The background of higher education in Tabasco began in 1861 when “Don Victorio Victorino Dueñas “ did all the arrangements, before the President of the Republic “Licenciado Benito Juarez Garcia”, to create a professional teaching center in the state. Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (Juárez Autonomous University of Tabasco, also known as UJAT) is a public institution of higher learning located in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. The mission of the university is "to prepare professionals with broad and deep expertise in their area of study to fill the needs of Tabasco and the country at large." UJAT is the largest and most prominent university in the state of Tabasco.[