Sambalpur University is located at Sambalpur, India in the Indian state of Orissa. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar. It offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Governor of Odisha is the Chancellor of the university. The campus is located 15 km away from Sambalpur in Burla. On 10 December 1966 Sambalpur University Act was passed by the Orissa Legislature for establishment of a University in the Western part of Orissa. This institute started from 1 January 1967. The first Vice-Chancellor of this varsity was Prof. Parsuram Mishra. First, the University started functioning in 1967 in a rented private building at Dhanupali, Sambalpur; then in a government building at Ainthapali, Sambalpur. In 1973 the University was shifted to the present campus named Jyoti Vihar at Burla. It is also a designated 'Manuscript Conservation Centre' (MCC) under the National Mission for Manuscripts established in 2003. The present campus of the University is located at Burla, 2 km away from NH 6. The campus of this university is in the vicinity of Mahanadi Coal Fields Limited, VSSUT and located on the foothills of the world famous Hirakud Dam.