Syracuse University, commonly referred to as Syracuse, 'Cuse, or SU, is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College. Following several years of debate over relocating the college to Syracuse, the university was founded independent of the college in 1870. Since 1920, the university has identified itself as nonsectarian, although it maintains a relationship with The United Methodist Church. Syracuse was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1966 but withdrew its membership in 2011 due to diverging views in evaluating criteria between the University and the AAU.