Prof. Dayananda Somasundara, the founding director of the college, determined that the SAUC should become a national university. Guided by his motivation, the academic, administrative and non-academic staff, students, and the nearby communities actively contributed towards the development and promotion of SAUC into a national university. As a result, the government decided to elevate SAUC to the status of a national university, amalgamating the Uva Affiliated University College (UAUC) at Rahangala and the Buttala Affiliated University College (BAUC) as the Faculties of Agricultural Sciences and Applied Sciences respectively. (Before this amalgamation, the SAUC at Belihuloya and the UAUC at Buttala were affiliated to the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, while the UAUC at Rahangala was affiliated to the University of Peradeniya.) The directors of the UAUC and BAUC were the Rev. Elle Wimalananda Thero and Prof. Arthur Bamunuarachchi respectively.