The university's first alumni organization was created in 1892 at what was then known as the Maryland Agricultural College, and a similar group formed at the professional schools in Baltimore. In 1948, the alumni organizations at College Park and Baltimore joined to form the University of Maryland Alumni Association, which over the next two decades expanded to include graduates of Eastern Shore, Baltimore County, and University College. The association became known as Alumni Association-International and offered programs including travel, awards, lifetime membership, and social activities. In September 1969, the Alumni Council of Alumni Association-International officially launched a life membership program. In 1981, the Office of Alumni Programs was established at the University of Maryland, College Park to oversee activities for more than 100,000 graduates, and under its direction homecoming activities, alumni chapters, and regional groups grew. In 1988, the Maryland General Assembly designated the University of Maryland, College Park the flagship campus of the University System of Maryland and gave each institution responsibility for its own alumni affairs. The University of Maryland, College Park Alumni Association was created in 1989 as part of this reorganization, and as an independent non-profit organization it later launched its own membership dues program, introducing a revitalized life membership option in 2006 that included all Alumni Association-International life members who were College Park graduates. Since 1989, membership in the University of Maryland Alumni Association has increased from 4,483 members inherited from Alumni Association-International to more than 35,000 individuals.