Gangadhar Meher University was established in 1944 as Sambalpur College, the name of the institution was changed to Gangadhar Meher College in 1949 after the name of the illustrious Oriya poet. It was upgraded to a university in 2015, and has been renamed as Gangadhar Meher University. On the basis of its academic reputation and its quality of institutional management and responsive administrative structure, the autonomy of this institution was extended by the UGC. Further, the institution was identified as the “College with potential for excellence (CPE)” by the UGC in the session 2004-05. The institution added another feather in its cap when it was accredited by the NAAC with an “A” grade in the session 2015-16 in recognition of its excellent performance.