Bharathidasan University was established in February 1982 and was named after the great revolutionary Tamil Poet, Bharathidasan (1891-1964). The University endeavors to be true to such a vision by creating a brave new world of academic innovation for social change in the region. The University's main Campus was initially located in a sprawling area of over 1000 acres in Palkalaiperur. However, as years passed, the South Campus at Palkalaiperur with the available infrastructure was donated to the newly started Anna University of Technology. Very recently, another portion of the land has been allotted to the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Tiruchirappalli. Also, the University has a downtown campus at Khajamalai, which originally housed the Autonomous Post-Graduate Centre of the University of Madras at Tiruchirappalli. In addition to the administrative complex, which includes the Vice-Chancellor's Secretariat, Registrar's Office, and Finance and Examination offices, most of the academic departments and research laboratories are located in the main Palkalaiperur Campus.