St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli

St. Joseph's College

Motto	“Pro Bono Et Vero”
Motto in English	For the Good and the True
Established	1844 (1844)
Religious affiliation	Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
Location	Tiruchirappalli , Tamil Nadu , India
Affiliations	Bharathidasan University
Website	www.sjctni.edu

St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli (SJC) in Tamil Nadu, India was established in 1844 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It was affiliated to Madras University in 1869 and is currently an affiliated First Grade College of Bharathidasan University.

History

St. Joseph's College celebrated its centenary in 1945 and sesquicentenary in 1995. It acquired Five Star status awarded by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council(NAAC) in 2000, was recognised by UGC as a College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) in 2004, and was accredited with A Grade [3rd Cycle] by NAAC in 2012. The college is owned by the Society of St.Joseph's, a body registered under Societies Regulation Act(1860), having its office at Tiruchirappalli. Around 30 Jesuits serve on the staff.

Coat of arms

The college blazon is not the heirloom of an ancient and noble family handed down with pride of name and glorious memories of the past. It is only a distinctive badge expressing its aim and ideal. It bears azure, with the Trichinipoly rock and the college church for distinctive features. The conspicuous palm tree in the middle is the emblem of the East. It bears in fesses a bow and above it is the monogram of the Society of Jesus. Its crest is a royal crown and a lily issuant, both in the honour of the college patron, St. Joseph. The crown signifies that he was of David’s royal blood and the lily to signify his spotless purity. Thus the whole in ordinary language would read: the College of St. Joseph is conducted by the Society of Jesus, at Trichinipoly in the East. The motto “PRO BONO ET VERO” (For the Good and the True) indicates the idea which the teachers and the taught should ever keep before their eyes as the goal of their efforts in the field of education, namely moral and intellectual formation.

Student training

• Courses on leadership
• Courses on human rights
• Involvement in outreach neighborhood programme
• Participation in human rights issues

• Training in critical thinking
• Creating environmental awareness
• Training in civics and duties of a citizen
• Training in multi-religious tolerance
• Training to work as a team

Milestones of St.Joseph's College

Year	Achievement
1844	Founded at Nagapattinam
1866	Affiliated to the University of Madras
1883	Transferred to Tiruchirappalli
1885	Blessing of our Lady of Lourdes Church
1896	Semi-boarding, hostels
1907	Construction of Lawley Hall
1945	College Centenary celebrations
1973	Evening College
1978	Autonomy conferred

1982	Affiliation to Bharathidasan University
1986	SHEPHERD programme
1994	Vocational courses
1995	College sesquicentennial celebrations
2000	Five Star status by NAAC
2001	Choice-based credit system
2003	Autonomy: Silver Jubilee
2004	Made "College with Potential for Excellence"
2006	Nationally re-accredited with A+ Grade
2012	Nationally accredited at A Grade [3rd Cycle]

Notable alumni

• Dr. Zacharias Peter Fernandez (BA, MD, DPH) from Quilon migrated to England, Chairman Councilor of Leeds, UK
• A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India
• A. J. John, Anaparambil, chief minister of Travancore-Cochin
• Sandilyan, writer
• Sujatha Rangarajan, writer
• S. Ashok Kumar, judge, Madras High Court and Andhra Pradesh High Court
• A. Srinivasa Raghavan, Tamil writer
• Srirangam Kannan, Morsing Vidwan, Carnatic musician
• S. P. Adithanar,lawyer, politician, minister and founder of the Tamil daily newspaper Dina Thanthi
• S.A. Ashokan, Famous for villain roles in Tamil Film
• V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar, historian, Indologist and Dravidologist
• Prabhu Solomon, film director
• D. Napoleon, actor and former Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment
• N. Gopalaswami, Padma Bhushan award winner and former chief election commissioner of India
• Vasanth, film director
• Major Mariappan Saravanan, Indian army hero of Batalik
• R. S. Krishnan, Experimental physicist and the discoverer of Krishnan Effect

College museum

As first curator in 1881 Fr. Castets, S.J. collected specimens and sent some collections abroad. Frs. Honore and Bertram are also associated with the beginning of the museum. Among the more active curators were Fr. L.V. Newton (1906-1913), C. Leigh (1913-1934), L.M. Balam(1937–65) and B.J. Coyle(1965-1971).
The holdings are varied; besides fauna (mammals, birds, snakes, fishes, lizards, chameleons, scorpions, spiders, butterflies, and moths) there are antiques such as two bricks from Babylon, 650 B.C.; a Roman lamp; stone arrow-heads 2000 years old; two pieces of wood from the London bridge burnt in 1230; an autograph letter of Queen Victoria; and weapons from World War I.