Atatürk University, founded in 1957 in Erzurum, is the seventh oldest university in Turkey. The university commenced its education in the Şair Nef-i Middle School building on November 17, 1958, with the Faculty of Agriculture and the Faculty of Science and Literature. Starting with 135 students in these two faculties, Atatürk University has grown significantly over the years. As of the 2005-2006 academic year, the university had 41,613 students, 2,439 academic staff, 17 faculties, 20 vocational schools, 6 institutes, 16 research centers, and has graduated over 100,000 students. The majority of the collection in the university library consists of books donated by Seyfettin Özege, and there is a section named after him in the library. In the 2021-2022 academic year, the university had a total of 58,122 students, including 12,158 associate degree, 36,195 undergraduate, 7,170 master's, and 2,599 doctoral students. As of 2022, the university employed a total of 2,760 academic staff, including 641 professors, 329 associate professors, 596 PhD holders, 305 lecturers, and 889 research assistants.