The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. Founded in 1907 as a Baptist institution, the school is now independent and ended compulsory religious services in 1972, although it maintains an informal relationship with the group American Baptist Churches USA. In 2012, U.S. News & World Report ranked Redlands 11th among regional universities in the western United States, and in 2010 it was rated 7th in the western United States for its Master's degree programs. The University of Redlands had its roots in the founding of two other American Baptist institutions, California College in Oakland, and Los Angeles University. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 damaged the finances of California College, a Baptist commission began exploring the liquidation of both institutions to develop a new institution in Southern California. The Reverend Jasper Newton Field, a Baptist pastor at Redlands, persuaded the Redlands Board of Trade to propose a donation of at least 100,000 dollars and 40 acres (16 ha) for an interdenominational campus (on land donated by layman Mr. K.C. Wells). On June 27, 1907 the Commission voted all in favor of the Redlands proposal.