INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Terre Haute, Ind., U.S. It comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Business, Education, Nursing, Technology, Graduate Studies, and Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. The university offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Campus facilities include an observatory, an art gallery, and nature preserves. Total enrollment exceeds 12,000. The university was created by law in 1865, and instruction began in 1870. It was then known as the Indiana State Normal School. It eventually evolved into a teachers college and awarded its first bachelor's degree in 1908. Graduate education at Indiana State began in 1927; the first doctoral program was instituted in 1965. Basketball player Larry Bird was an alumnus of Indiana State University.