St. Joseph's College, Bangalore

St. Joseph's College (Autonomous)
Motto Fide et Labore
Motto in English
 Faith and Toil
Established 1882
Affiliation Society of Jesus
Principal Rev .Dr. Victor Lobo SJ
Location Bangalore, Karnataka, India
12°57′46″N 77°35′50″E / 12.9627°N 77.5971°ECoordinates: 12°57′46″N 77°35′50″E / 12.9627°N 77.5971°E
Campus Urban
Affiliations Bangalore University
Website http://www.sjc.ac.in/

St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Bangalore is one of the oldest colleges in the state of Karnataka with a history of more than 125 years. It is one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in India and has been awarded the highest rating, A (3.73/4), in the re-accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in 2007. It imparts graduate, post-graduate and research education while searching, renewing and expanding itself, attempting to be ever relevant to the changing situations of the times. The College believes in the Jesuit and constitutional ideal of contributing towards a society of equality, fraternity and liberty through an admission policy of preferential option for the poor. Merit is understood in a larger perspective here. While it is the desire of the college to provide quality education to as many young men and women as possible from all sections of society, it proactively extends support to students who lack opportunities.

Together with its sister institutions, the St. Joseph's College of Commerce, the St. Joseph's Evening College, the St. Joseph's Boys' High School and the St. Joseph's Indian High School, the St. Joseph's College caters to the needs of more than 5000 students on its rolls, assisted by over 150 members of Staff. The institution which in itself exemplifies a tradition, consists of four main buildings which are located in the center of the Cantonment. The St. Joseph's Commerce College, St. Joseph's College of Business Administration, St. Joseph's Evening College and Pre-University College are in the vicinity of St. Patrick's Church and the Good Shepherd Convent. St. Joseph's College itself is located on Langford Road near Richmond Circle, Bangalore.

History

The college was founded in 1882 by the Fathers of the French Foreign Mission. The need for instituting a College of this magnitude in Bangalore was felt by the Catholic missionaries and it was the Vicar Apostolic of the Coramandel Coast, Rev. Dr. Bonnand, who propounded the idea, in 1841, in a letter to Rev. Fr. Bertrand. Complying with the order, the Foreign Missions Society of Paris bought a plot of land on St. John's Hill and gradually made the transition to the location it occupies today.

The Cantonment of Bangalore now had an Educational Institution that would cater to the needs of the students, just as that venerable institution, the Central College, was doing for the Bangalore City area.

It was originally set up in 1882 because of the salubrious climate and strategic position of Bangalore and the need to administer education to the small Catholic community, comprising about 1000 Europeans and 5000 Indians. In 1904, a swarm of full fledged bees flew from the mother bee-hive when the Indian section was separated from the European section, to gather the honey in friendly rivalry under their own queen, in their own hive.

The year 1937 saw the end of a chapter and heralded the beginning of a new one. This new chapter began on the 1st of June 1937, with the blessing of His Lordship, Bishop Despartures. By an agreement between His Lordship, the Bishop of Mysore and the representatives of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus in India, the management of the College was transferred to the Society of Jesus with effect from 1 June 1937.

At the transition, the college campus consisted of the one main building put up in 1925 and it provided sufficient accommodation for the 350 students on the rolls.

In 2001 The college moved from the Residency Road campus to new premises in the erstwhile Hostel Campus at the intersection of Langford Road and Lalbagh Road.

It was one of the five Bangalore colleges that were awarded academic autonomy in the year 2005.


Academics

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References

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