Baylor University, also known as BU, is a privately owned entity headquartered in the US. Founded in 1845, with an estimated employee count of 8620, it functions as a private Baptist research university. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas and is located in Waco, Texas, on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin.