Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU or MNSU), also known as Minnesota State, is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota. Established as the Second State Normal School in 1858, it was designated in Mankato in 1866, and officially opened as Mankato Normal School in 1868. It is the second oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. It is also the second largest public university in the state, and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. It is the most comprehensive of the seven state universities and is referred to as the flagship of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. It is an important part of the economy of Southern Minnesota and the state as it adds more than $781 million to the economy of Minnesota annually.Minnesota State offers 130 undergraduate programs of study, 75 graduate programs and 4 doctoral programs. It hosts the only nationally, regionally, and state accredited aviation program in Minnesota. Students are served by 750 full-time faculty members creating a 21:1 student to faculty ratio. In addition to the main campus, it operates two satellite campuses: one in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina and the other in Owatonna. Through the College of Extended Learning it provides bachelor's degrees at the Normandale Partnership Center in Bloomington and programs online through an online campus.