Until 1936, when Odisha was made into a separate province, all its colleges   were under the   jurisdiction of either Patna University or Andhra University. Subsequently,  the Government of Odisha, headed by Shri Biswanath  Dash,  the  then  Prime   Minister;       appointed  a   committee  on  2nd March    1938  with  Pandit    Nilakantha Das as its Chairman to examine the possibility of establishing a separate university in Odisha. Then, during the premiership      of Maharaja    Krushna  Chandra  Gajapati, who played a pioneering  role  in  the  establishment   of  the   University,   the   recommendations of  this  committee  were  made  available.

Pandit   Godavarish Mishra,    the then Minister of   Education,   introduced the   Utkal University Bill, which    was passed by the Odisha Legislative Assembly on 30th June 1943. On  receiving the Governor’s assent on 2nd August  1943,  the  Utkal  University  Act,  1943 came  into  force,  clearing  the way  for  the foundation  of Utkal  University on 27th  November  1943.  The University started functioning from this date   in room no. 15 of Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. The Utkal  University Act,  1943 did  not  specify  clearly  the   territorial  jurisdiction  of  the  University.   However, its jurisdiction was extended to include the princely states of Odisha by an agreement between the rulers of these princely states and the Government of Odisha. According to the agreement, adequate representation of  the  princely states in  the  administrative  and  academic  bodies  of  the  University  was ensured. The Utkal University Act, 1943 was amended in 1947 defining the territorial jurisdiction of the University, which was subsequently extended to the   whole   state   of   Odisha   in 1950.   Dr.   Pranakrushna  Parija,   the     then Principal of Ravenshaw College, Cuttack was the first Vice-Chancellor of the University, and Mr. V. V. John, the  then  Assistant  Professor  of  English, Ravenshaw College was its first Registrar.