The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced /ˈkjuː.ni/, KYOO-nee) is the public university system of New York City, United States. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 26 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges, and eight professional institutions. The university enrolls more than 275,000 students. CUNY alumni include thirteen Nobel Prize winners and twenty-four MacArthur Fellows.
The oldest constituent college of CUNY, City College of New York, was originally founded in 1847 and became the first free public institution of higher learning in the United States. In 1960, John R. Everett became the first chancellor of the Municipal College System of New York City, later known as the City University of New York (CUNY). CUNY, established by New York state legislation in 1961 and signed into law by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, was an amalgamation of existing institutions and a new graduate school.