Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution of higher learning located in Hempstead, Long Island, New York (USA) founded in 1935 on the basis of the estate of wealthy lumber magnate William S. Hofstra (1861-1932) and his (second) wife Kate Mason (1854-1933). The school began as a college of New York University and in 1937 became an independent school called Hofstra College, later changing its name to Hofstra University in 1963.