Hofstra University is a private, non-profit, nonsectarian institution of higher learning. Its main campus is located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of New York City. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) called "Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead, Long Island"; in 1937, the institution separated from NYU and gained independence as Hofstra College, and in 1963, Hofstra College gained university status. Comprising ten schools, including a School of Medicine and a School of Law, Hofstra is noted for a series of prominent Presidential conferences, as well as being selected to host United States Presidential Debates in 2008 and 2012. The university organizes a wide range of other international academic conferences (many under the aegis of the Hofstra Cultural Center), holds an annual Shakespeare festival in its own replica of the Globe Theatre, and has both an arboretum and bird sanctuary.