University of Sri Jayewardenepura
The University of Sri Jayewardenepura is a public university in Sri Lanka. It is in Gangodawila, Nugegoda, near Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, the country's administrative capital. It was formed in 1958 from the Vidyodaya Pirivena, a Buddhist educational centre which was founded in 1873 by Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera.
History
The university dates back to 1873, when the Vidyodaya Pirivena was established by the Buddhist monk Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero, who established the pirivena as a centre of Oriental learning.In 1956, the new prime minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike wanted to promote national languages and culture; it was decided to confer university status on the Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara pirivenas. The Vidyodaya University and Vidyalankara University Act No. 45 of 1958 established universities at the Vidyodyaya Pirivena at Maligakanda and the Vidyalankara Pirivena at Kelaniya; the former was renamed the Vidyodaya University of Ceylon.
A new location was selected in 1961 at Gangodawila, southeast of central Colombo and within walking distance of the High-Level Road trunk road connecting Colombo and Ratnapura. Part of the land belonged to the nearby Sunethradevi Pirivena, associated with King Parakramabahu VI. The university moved to the new site on 22 November 1961, under the direction of Sri Soratha Thero. The vice-chancellor invited the Department of Government Archives to establish its archives on the campus, near the university library, to encourage research. The Higher Education Act opened Sri Lanka's universities to women.
The university expanded during the tenure of Walpola Rahula Thero as vice-chancellor. Rahula Thero was succeeded in 1969 by linguist D. E. Hettiarachchi. At the time, future President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa chaired the campus' United Corporations and Mercantile Union local.
The university's revitalization continued until the 1971 JVP insurrection, when the political atmosphere heavily affected its students' education. After the insurrection, the university was converted into a detention camp for suspected insurgents in 1971 and 1972; lectures were delivered at other locations.
The following year, all universities became campuses of the University of Ceylon under the University of Ceylon Act. In 1978, their university status was restored.
The university's full-time student population is over 18,000, enrolled in the faculties of applied sciences, engineering, graduate studies, humanities and social sciences, management studies and commerce, medical sciences, and technology.
| Chancellor | Period | Vice-chancellor | Period |
| Sir Oliver Goonetilleka, governor-general | 1959 – 1962 | Ven. Welivitiye Soratha Nayaka Thero | January 1959 – July 1963 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Ven. Palannoruwe Sri Wimaladhamma Nayake Thero | August 1963 – September 1966 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Ven. Parawahera Vajiragnana Nayake Thero | March 1966 – September 1966 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Nayake Thero | October 1966 – November 1966 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula Thero | November 1966 – July 1969 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Prof. D. E. Hattiarachchi | August 1969 – August 1970 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Prof. Hema Ellawala | September 1970 – September 1972 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Prof. V. K. Samaranayake | October 1972 – September 1973 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Prof. M. D. C. Dharmawardena | March 1974 – January 1975 |
| Hon. William Gopallawa, governor-general | 1962 – 1977 | Prof. W. M. K. Wijayathunge | February 1975 – May 1977 |
| H. E. J. R. Jayawardana, president | 1978 – 1979 | Prof. K. Tuley de Silva | June 1977 – July 1978 |
| Dr. E. W. Adhikaram | 1979 – 1983 | Prof. K. Jinadasa Perera | January 1979 – December 1981 |
| Dr. E. W. Adhikaram | 1979 – 1983 | Prof. T. B. Kangahaarachchi | January 1982 – January 1983 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku | February 1983 – March 1984 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku | March 1984 – April 1988 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Prof. L. P. N. Perera | April 1988 – September 1990 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Prof. S. B. Hettiarachchi | October 1990 – October 1992 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Mr. W. B. Dorakumbura | November 1992 – October 1995 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Prof. P. Wilson | November 1995 – April 1999 |
| Dr. Wimala de Silva | 1984 – 2002 | Prof. Tissa Kariyawasam | May 1999 |
| Ven. Medagoda Sumanatissa Thero | 2002 – 2007 | Prof. J. W. Wickremasinghe | June 1999 – May 2002 |
| Ven. Medagoda Sumanatissa Thero | 2002 – 2007 | Prof. Tissa Kariyawasam | June 2002 – October 2002 |
| Ven. Medagoda Sumanatissa Thero | 2002 – 2007 | Dr. D. S. Epitawatta | October 2002 – December 2003 |
| Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero | 2005 – 2018 | Prof. Chandima Wijebandara | 27 July 2004 – October 2005 |
| Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero | 2005 – 2018 | Prof. Narada Warnasuriya | November – September 2008 |
| Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero | 2005 – 2018 | Dr. N. L. A. Karunaratne | October 2008 – November 2008 |
| Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero | 2005 – 2018 | Dr. N. L. A. Karunaratne | November 2008 – November 2014 |
| Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thero | 2005 – 2018 | Prof. Sampath Amaratunge | November 2014 – November 2020 |
| Ven. Dr. Ittapana Dhammalankara Thero | 2018 – present | Prof. Sampath Amaratunge | November 2014 – November 2020 |
| Ven. Dr. Ittapana Dhammalankara Thero | 2018 – present | Prof. Sudantha Liyanage | January 2020 – September 2020 |
| Ven. Dr. Ittapana Dhammalankara Thero | 2018 – present | Prof. Sudantha Liyanage | September 2020 – present |
Faculties
The university originally had five faculties: Buddhist Studies, Philosophy, Languages, Arts, Ayurveda, and Science. The faculties had 22 departments.SJU currently has eleven faculties: Applied Sciences, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies and Commerce, Medical Sciences, Allied Health Sciences, Dental Sciences, Computing, Urban and Aquatic Bioresources, and Technology.
The Department of Science was elevated to a faculty of Applied Sciences in 1962, with G. C. N. Jayasuriya as its first dean. Its current dean is Upul Subasinghe of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Science.
The Department of Medical Education and Health Sciences was established to improve and sustain the quality of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and to present certificate and diploma courses in the health sciences.
International links
World Class University Project
The University Grants Commission defines the World Class University Project as "The implementation of a series of activities on par with international standards and to formulate and implement specific strategies to move up in the internal ranking indexes and become 'world-class' in order to achieve global excellence". The project focuses on encouraging local fields which support innovation leading to national development by prioritizing interdisciplinary studies which combine the basic sciences and the humanities.The WCUP is designed to develop a research culture at the university. The project, directed by Ranil De Silva, was established to encourage world-class scholars and researchers to develop academic programmes and departments at the university. It has signed six international memoranda of understanding since 2013 and has initiated twelve since that year.