Government College University, Lahore  The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU) is a public research university located in Lahore, Pakistan. Established in 1861 as the Government College, it opened its doors in 1864. After being elevated to a university status in 2002, it has advanced into one of the top ten largest institution in the Pakistan with student body of over 12,000. GCU has 32 academic departments, segregated into five faculties. There are five research centers, focused on academic and industrial research and development projects. The university secured its second place in the general category by the Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) (HEC) in 2013. It has the highest graduation rate in the country, with an average of 95.5% annually. GCU is noted for its historical roots and attracted notable scholars such as poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Nobel laureates Har Gobind Khorana and Abdus Salam, former president of both the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice, Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, scholar and novelist duo of Bano Qudsia and Ashfaq Ahmed and many more to study and become alumnus of the institute. Originally, the establishment of a Central College in Lahore was sanctioned in 1856 by the British Raj, given that the teachers are from Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin or Durham. Government College was founded in 1861 when it was "briefly affiliated" by Brahma University under the leadership of Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner, professor of Arabic and Islamic Law at King's College London. It was not until 1 January 1864 that the college opened its doors in the "Palace of Raja Dhyan Singh Haveli", inside "Lahore's Walled City", where it was an affiliated college of Calcutta University. In April 1871 the college moved to a large Bungalow near Anarkali. In 1873 its location was again changed to another house called "Rahim Khan's Kothi", due to rapidly increasing student strength. At last in 1876, the college moved into its present building,  The first principal was Dr. G. W. Leitner, whose name is closely attached to the College. In 1882, Leitner was very instrumental in laying foundation of Punjab University. Thereafter, the college would remain affiliated with Punjab University for 115 years. In 1997, the Government of Punjab gave Government College autonomy in all affairs and granted degree awarding status.