Loyola College, Chennai, commemorated its centenary during the academic year 2024-25. The college has followed the triple mantra of Expansion, Inclusion, and Excellence for the last hundred years. It grew from three undergraduate courses with 75 students in 1925 to 24 UG and 21 PG courses at present. Fifteen disciplines offer full-time and part-time Ph.D. programmes. More than 450 faculty members are working, and the number of students has gone up to 10,000. This is the only college that figures in all three categories – Arts, Science, and Commerce in the ranking by India Today’s Top Ten Colleges in India. The NIRF Ranking by Ministry of Education has Loyola College rated first in perception and in the category of research.

The Beginnings

The story of Loyola College began on board the ship that was bringing Father Bertram, Founder Principal back from the USA to France. He went to the US after the First World War, to collect funds for a proposed Jesuit College in Madras. When he returned, he had only seven dollars. He found sympathy in Rome, both in the Vatican and the Jesuit Generalate. Pope Benedict XV gave him 100,000 lire. Loyola was founded as an act of faith and hope. He was relieved of his Principalship at St. Joseph’s Trichy to begin the college in Madras. He borrowed Rs. 2 lakhs and bought the land for the college. Jesuits came over to Madras at the invitation of the most Rev. Dr J. Aelen, Archbishop of Madras, to open a Catholic college for young men in the Presidency capital. The foundation stone was laid on March 10, 1924, and the college started functioning in July of the following year. Since the continuation of the Intermediate Course was being discussed in the University and hung in the balance, it was decided to begin the college with the first-year B.A. in Economics, History, and Mathematics in 1925. Within three years after the Start of the College affiliation was obtained for the prestigious three-year Honours courses following the Intermediate.

The main building block of the Loyola College.

Christ the King Church

Christ the King Church was inaugurated on March 6, 1932. It’s a Gothic-style Church, and the columns that support the central vault are a work of genius. Their slimness gives lightness to the whole structure, yet, you may be certain, the architect has seen to it that this does not rob them of the strength required to bear the weight put on them. The altar and its green columns are works of art. The same style is reproduced on the side altars. The upper windows offer splendid specimens of stained glass work. The design of each panel is of the utmost simplicity and sobriety, yet with rich, deep, mellow, and warm colours. SA Gnanapragasam Pillai was the architect and builder of the college. The entire landscape of the campus was his creation.

1. Expansions

When the college observed its silver jubilee in 1950, there were 1,800 students. The then Chief Minister of Madras, the Hon’ble P.S. Kumaraswami Raja, inaugurated the celebrations. The beginning of the fifties witnessed the introduction of French and Latin. The decade witnessed the shedding of Intermediate in Arts and Sciences due to the new regulation of the University in 1956 and the start of the new two-year PG courses in 1958. In 1971, Loyola Evening College was started with the purpose of offering B.Com, and later BA History, to those working in the different service sectors. Classes were held between 6 and 9 p.m. In 1975, during the Golden Jubilee year, there were 2500 students. The celebrations were originally planned for September 1975, but due to the declaration of Emergency on June 25, 1975, the function was postponed to January 14-16, 1976. Frs. Jerome D’Souza and Theo Mathias were instrumental in getting the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, for the inaugural on January 14, 1975. Loyola College was one of eight given autonomous status by the Union government through the University Grants Commission in 1978. It was given the privilege of designing its own syllabus, conducting examinations at the end of every semester, and announcing the results. During the 1986 Diamond Jubilee year, Loyola College had 4,000 students. The Diamond Jubilee of the College was celebrated in October 1986. M.O.H. Farook, an alumnus and the then Chief Minister of Pondicherry, and the Jesuit Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, Casimir Gnanadikam, inaugurated the celebration.

Between October 13 and 15, 1995, Loyola College had the privilege of hosting the First National Alumni Congress. About 500 delegates from all over India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka participated. It was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu. Fr. Jerome D’Souza’s Birth Centenary was observed in 1997 and R. Venkataraman, former President of India, and C. Subramaniam, former Governor of Maharashtra, participated. On December 18, 1997, the Governor of Meghalaya and Manipur released the postage stamp in honour of Fr. Jerome D’Souza. The Platinum Jubilee year (2000) was inaugurated by the then Governor of Tamil Nadu, Fatima Beevi. The valedictory event took place on February 6, 2000. Loyola had 6,000 students during the Platinum Jubilee year. The then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, presided over the function. The Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach SJ, blessed the Platinum Jubilee Building and addressed the staff and students at Bertram Hall.

In 2001, Loyola went for a major restructuring of the syllabus and introduced Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS). This was taken as a model by the Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSHE) to introduce it in the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) of TN. In all the NAAC Accreditation (1999, 2006, 2013, and 2021) and three re-accreditations, Loyola College has secured the highest grade of A++.

The ‘Trio’ behind Loyola’s success story:

Father Francis Bertram SJ, 1925-1935. He was Rector and Principal of St. Joseph’s College, Trichy. Two colleges outside the University nominated him to the Syndicate of Madras University. He became an active member of the committee to examine the Sadler Report on University Reform. His official connection with University administration was maintained by his continuous re-election or nomination to the Syndicate, Senate, and Academic Council. This experience at the University convinced him of the need to found a Jesuit college in the city of Madras. Fr. Bertram was twice acting Vice-Chancellor of Madras University. He brought with him from St. Joseph’s, Trichy, a group of experienced and reputed teachers. He laid a strong foundation for Loyola.

Father Jerome D’Souza SJ, 1942-50. He was both Rector and Principal. He is considered the second founder of Loyola College. During his tenure, courses were expanded by the introduction of Hindi and French in Part III of the B.A., the reintroduction of Latin, Natural Sciences in the Intermediate, Botany and Zoology in the B.Sc., B.Com (Honours), and B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry. His talent as a public speaker attracted the attention of C. Rajagopalachari, who sponsored his election to the Constituent Assembly. The second phase witnessed the expansion of the college soon after its silver jubilee in 1950.

Father J. Kuriakose SJ, 1970-83. He was on the Syndicate, the highest policy making body of the University of Madras, for three terms-9 years. He was on the High Power Committee for the Restructuring of Education (10+2+3). He was the President of the Management Association throughout the State and the President of the City College Principals Association. Under his dynamic leadership, Loyola took the bold step towards autonomy. Autonomy means tremendous freedom, but it also comes with enormous responsibility.

Faculty: The great strength of Loyola has been its committed and dedicated faculty since the inception of the college in 1925. Loyolites remember with a great sense of satisfaction their faculty members. Most of them were veteran teachers and researchers. Many of them are known outside the college for their expertise in the subject. They served in government-appointed committees and University bodies. Mentioning some of them and leaving many will be a great disservice. Loyola’s success story is attributed largely to its faculty, both Jesuits and laypersons, who are punctual and professional in dealing with the students.

Outstanding Alumni: It is difficult to provide a full list of those who are alumni of the college and leaders in numerous walks of life. Some distinguished alumni are highlighted below. Loyola has produced great men and women for public life. Some of them are the former President of India R. Venkataraman (1910- 2009) (President of India, 1987-92), the man behind the white revolution Varghese Kurian (1921-2012) and Dr. Malcolm S. Adiseshiah(1910-1994),who retired as the Deputy Director of UNESCO and served as the Vice-Chancellor of Madras University. Dr. T.N. Ananthakrishnan (1925-2015) was a lecturer in Zoology and was the Head of the Department of Zoology until 1968, when he took up the position of founder director of the Entomology Research Institute (ERI), which functions within the Loyola College campus in Chennai. He became the director of the Zoological Survey of India in 1977 and served for five years. Prof. A. Appadorai joined Loyola College in the late 1930s and was teaching politics from the Department of Economics. He wrote his magnum opus, The Substance of Politics, while here. He became the founder of the School of International Studies (SIS) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Dr. C. Rangarajan, a distinguished economist, was member of the Upper House of Parliament, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1992 to 1997, and Chairman of the 12th Finance Commission. He was also Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisor Council. Dr. G. Viswanathan, an educationist, is the founder and Chancellor of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in India. In the apex court of India, Justices Chalameshwar and K.M. Joseph were judges, and now Justice M.M. Sundaresh is a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India. Sports have been one of the areas where famous tennis players like Krishnan, the Amritharaj brothers, and chess champion Viswanathan Anand all studied here. Several alumni are in the Indian Administrative, Police, Foreign, and Revenue services.

There were several Secretaries at the National Secretariat and in the State Secretariats. Many excelled in journalism, like N. Ram of The Hindu, Shashi Kumar Menon of Asianet and Asian College of Journalism, and P. Sainath, Magsaysay award winner and founder of PARI (People’s Archives Rural India). Politicians and former union ministers include P. Chidambaram, Dayanidhi Maran, and several MPs and MLAs. Many in the church leadership were former students of Loyola College, Chennai. There are many academics serving in India and in foreign countries as Vice-chancellors and in teaching and research. Commerce being the most sought-after subject, there are many captains of industries, and those in decision-making roles in the Chambers of Commerce, Auditing, and Company Secretaryship.

There are Loyolites in the armed forces serving the country with pride and honour. Visual communication as a discipline is an innovation of the college and it has produced several actors, directors and men and women in the world of advertisement and print and electronic media.

Inclusion:

Including the excluded, particularly the marginalised communities, be it social or economic, has been the primary concern of the Jesuits. The admission policy changed in favour of students coming from rural areas and from oppressed castes. The silent revolution of educating the poor has changed the landscape of Higher Education as more and more people enter the job market and make a dignified living.

Challenges:

Loyola College faces two exciting challenges – to increase access to higher education and to provide academic excellence. Neither of the challenges can be sacrificed for the other. They need simultaneous attention and can be addressed effectively. Loyola believes in the triple objectives of expansion, inclusion, and excellence.

Conclusion:

Loyola, which served society through higher education, can be proud of opening its doors to many, particularly to those in the marginalised sections of society. Its research programme is the best by any standards for an arts and sciences college. The challenge is how best it can serve the youth of India who enter the portals of Loyola College by providing them with quality education. Let your light shine is the motto of the college and truly in the last hundred years it has been a beacon of light for many.