Utkal University

Utkal University

"ଉତ୍କଳ ବିଶ୍ଵବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟ"
Motto	सत्यम् परम् धीमहि ସତ୍ୟଂ ପରମ୍ ଧୀମହି Satyam param dhīmahi (Sanskrit)
Motto in English	Seek The Highest Truth
Type	Public
Established	1943
Chancellor	S. C. Jamir, Hon’ble Governor of Odisha
Vice-Chancellor	Dr. Ashok Kumar Das
Students	Over 3000
Location	Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India 20°18′14″N 85°50′23″E / 20.303961°N 85.839647°E / 20.303961; 85.839647Coordinates: 20°18′14″N 85°50′23″E / 20.303961°N 85.839647°E / 20.303961; 85.839647
Campus	Urban, 399.9 acres (1.618 km2)
Affiliations	UGC
Website	www.utkaluniversity.ac.in

Utkal University (Odia: ), also known as Vani Vihar is the oldest university in Odisha and the 17th oldest university in India located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. There are at present 27 masters departments at the university campus for studies and research in various disciplines of Science, Humanities, Business administration, Social science, Law, and Commerce. There are about 3000 students in the masters departments in the university. This is the largest affiliating university in the country with 267 affiliated general colleges, 15 law colleges, 6 medical and pharmacy colleges.

After the separation of Odisha from Bihar and the creation of the new province of Odisha in April 1936, there was a strong desire among the leaders of the province for the establishment of a separate university in Odisha. Until 1936 all the colleges were under the jurisdiction of either Patna University or Andhra University. Subsequently the government of Odisha, with Shri Biswanath Das as the premier, appointed a committee on March 2, 1938, with Pandit Nilakantha Das as its chairman to examine the possibility of establishing a separate university in Odisha. During the premiership of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, who played a pioneering role in the establishment of the university, the recommendation of this committee was made available. Pandit Godavarish Mishra, the then minister of education in the government of Odisha introduced the Utkal University Bill which was passed by the Odisha Legislative Assembly on June 30, 1943. On receiving the Governor's assent subsequently on August 2, 1943, the Utkal University Act 1943 came into force, clearing the way for the foundation of the university on November 27, 1943.

In 1966 that Act was repealed and a new Utkal University Act came into effect from January 1, 1967. Initially Utkal University was operating from the Ravenshaw College, before it came to its own campus at Bhubaneswar, called Vani Vihar. Ravenshaw College remained affiliated to Patna University even after the separation of Odisha from Bihar in 1936; the affiliation was finally transferred to the newly created Utkal University in 1943. In fact, it was Ravenshaw College that gave birth to the new university, nursed and sustained it. It operated from Ravenshaw College's present Zoology Department building premises. The University has many departments from Anthropology to Zoology, for post-graduate teaching.The foundation stone of the present campus was laid by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India on January 1, 1958, and the campus was inaugurated by Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India on January 2, 1963.