The University of Sri Jayewardenepura (also referred to as Jayewardenepura University or USJ) ( Shri Jayavardhanapura Vishvavidyala, ) is a public university in Sri Lanka. It is in Gangodawila, Nugegoda, near Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, the capital city. It was formed in 1958 out of the Vidyodaya Pirivena, a Buddhist educational centre which was founded in 1873 by Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera. History The University of Sri Jayewardenepura has a long history dating back to 1873, when the Vidyodaya Pirivena was established by the erudite monk Venerable Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero, who established the pirivena as a center for Oriental learning. In 1956, following a change of government with Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike as the prime minister and following the policy of promoting national languages and culture, it was decided to establish two new universities by conferring university status on the Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara Pirivenas. Accordingly, the Vidyodaya University and Vidyalankara University Act No. 45 of 1958 established the universities at the Vidyodyaya Pirivena at Maligakanda and the Vidyalankara Pirivena at Kelaniya. In 1958, it was reconstituted as the Vidyodaya University of Ceylon. In 1961, a new location was selected at Gangodawila, southeast from the center of Colombo and in walking distance of the main trunk road known as the High Level Road (A4). This road connects Colombo to Ratnapura and beyond. Part of these lands belonged to the nearby Sunethradevi Pirivena, associated with King Parakramabahu VI (1412–1467). The shift of the university to the new site was effected on 22 November 1961, under the direction of Ven. Sri Soratha Thero. The vice-chancellor invited the Department of the Government Archives to establish its archives within the campus, close to the university library, to encourage research. In 1966, the university scene changed for the better under the Higher Education Act No. 20. Universities were open for female admission. This was not all that changed; the vice chancellor position of the universities’ were no longer restricted to be assumed by the Maha Sanga. When Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula Thero was the vice-chancellor, the university grew significantly in stature. When Ven. Dr. Rahula Thero left the university in 1969, linguist Prof. D. E. Hettiarachchi took over. A noted employee of at this time was Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was chairman of the United Corporations and Mercantile Union local on the campus. He was later elected as the president of Sri Lanka and