Loyola College, Chennai

Loyola College
Loyola College-Logo.png
Coat of arms
Motto Luceat Lux Vestra
Motto in English Let your Light Shine
Established 1925
Type Autonomous
Location Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Website loyolacollege.edu
Main building

Loyola College is an autonomous Jesuit institution of academic excellence under the historic University of Madras located in the city of Chennai, India. The institution is among the handful of India's most prestigious institutions for degree programmes in commerce, arts, natural sciences and social sciences, and has been consistently ranked amongst the top five institutions in India for those programs[citation needed]. The college admits undergraduates and post-graduates and offers degrees in the liberal arts, sciences and commerce.

Contents

History

Loyola Church

Loyola College was founded in 1925 by a French Jesuit, Rev. Fr. Francis Bertram SJ, with the support of a group of Jesuits who had had their grounding at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the London School of Economics.

The name Loyola comes from the ancestral castle where Saint Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491, the last of a large Basque family. Pursuing a worldly career in the service of the king, he was wounded in the defence of Pamplona and was taken as prisoner. While convalescing, he converted and turned from the service of an earthly ruler to that of a divine master, Jesus Christ. He undertook a life of prayer, penance and serious study and recorded his experience in the book Spiritual Exercises, which became the source of inspiration for all his followers. He gathered around him like-minded and motivated university men like St. Francis Xavier, who came to India to establish the Society of Jesus in 1540.

The members of the Society of Jesus are popularly known as Jesuits. The Society of Jesus is a worldwide organization of religious men, numbering about 19 thousand spread all over the world, of whom nearly 4,000 are working in the 18 provinces of India. In Tamil Nadu alone there are 480 Jesuits working in schools, colleges, youth services, social work centres, parishes, mission outreach programmes, and in almost every form of service and ministry of the Church. The 266th Pontiff Pope Francis is a jesuit.

Academics

Loyola College is the only college in the state capital Chennai to have been accredited with A+ category by the NAAC. The college offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The arts/humanities stream includes English, economics, commerce, history, Tamil and sociology. Science courses include physics, chemistry, botany, zoology and computer science. The college was ranked the number one college or institution for science degrees in India by India Today magazine in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006[citation needed]. In 2007 it was ranked first in both science and humanities.[citation needed]

The college follows a credit-based semester pattern. Undergraduate students have to pass all examinations and obtain at least 120 credits in three years to be eligible for award of a degree. Non-academic credits are also required of all students, and extra-curricular and social service options offer that choice. The Department of Outreach is a vibrant department which is the nodal agency for social work in the college. Every student, irrespective of department, is required to complete the outreach program in his second year at college in order to complete his degree. The program moulds every student into a complete human by making them visit slums & backward areas in and around chennai to know the sufferings of the people living there and take necessary steps to provide them a hygienic and a decent space to live. This program awards 3 credits .

The college is located on a 99-acre (400,000 m2) campus in the heart of the Chennai, in Nungambakkam. Its tree-lined pathways, academic buildings, steepled Gothic church, which dates back to 1930, and separate playgrounds for each sport, make it a landmark in the southern metropolis. Its alumni include a former President of India, politicians, diplomats and civil servants, entertainers, eminent Sportsmen, Olympic Medalists, writers and journalists.

The college has been conferred a "College with Potential For Excellence" status by the University Grants Commission. It was also given a INR10 million grant (1 Crore) in 2006 by the UGC for continual improvement of facilities.

Institute for Excellence

Culturals

Loyola College has a rich cultural history. Being one among the first colleges in South-India to host Cultural Fests, Loyola College boasts of being the only men's college in Chennai to explore and nurture talent among its own students. However after allowing women students in PG courses since the turn of the millennium, the college encourages women students also to participate in cultural activities. The historic Down Sterling annual inter-college carnival for college students till 1992 is now a past memory. Unexpected events and violence led the college management to ban this festival which was considered as the biggest college fest in South India[citation needed]. Every year the Student Union Members try to revive this fest but fail, as the scars of Down Sterling still haunt the management authorities. "Down Sterling" was last seen in the friendship song "MUSTHAFA MUSTHAFA' from the movie Kadhal Desam which was released in 1996. Ovations which is now the intre-collegiate annual cultural event is held usually in the month of September and is organised by the Loyola Student's Union on a large scale. The college also hosts an annual inter - collegiate dance competition called Ignite outside the college campus during the month of February. Loyola college is also known for its ace dance team, Loyola Dream Team, which is one among the country's best dance teams and one of the crowd pullers for other college culturals. Apart from dance they have Western/Acoustic music bands, Variety and mime teams. Academics, culturals and co-curricular activities are given equal importance in Loyola. This in one of the major reasons why Loyola remains the one of the city's best and most preferred colleges in India[citation needed]. Every student is proud to be a part of this college and calls himself/herself "A proud Loyolite"

Notable alumni

Alumni are referred to as Loyolites

Politics

Noted Alumni in Academics & Business

Sports

Religion

Journalism

Theater and cinema

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ R., Srinivasan. "Loyola college". India Abroad. 
  2. ^ C. K., Seshadri. "Profile". CMI. 
  3. ^ "Sundeep Kishan Signs Two More Films". cinegoer.com. June 29, 2009. 

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