St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic college run by the Jesuits of the Bombay Province in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 2 January 1869. The college is affiliated with the University of Mumbai and offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Arts, Science, Commerce and Management. Xavier's was the first college to be granted autonomy by the University of Mumbai in 2010. In 2006, St. Xavier's was awarded the 'A+' grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
The college is named after Francis Xavier, the 16th-Century Spanish Jesuit saint. Its campus in South Mumbai is built in the Indo-Gothic style of architecture, and recognized as a heritage structure. Founded by German Jesuits in 1869, Xavier's developed rapidly from 1884 to 1914. The imprisonment of German Jesuit priests during the First World War (1914–1918) led to a dislocation of the administration, which was mitigated by the appointment of other European Jesuits. The college began as an arts institution but by the 1920s had science departments as well. The college was greatly expanded in the 1930s.
The college is now run by Indian Jesuits, with a distinct focus on affirmative action for minority students. It offers undergraduate and post-graduate courses in Arts, Science, Business, Commerce and Public Policy. It is known for its famous inter-collegiate youth event 'Malhar Fest'.
History
St. Xavier's College was founded on 2 January 1869 in Bombay by German Jesuits, with only two students in attendance. The two students came from a group of six who appeared for the university matriculation examination in 1868 from St. Mary's Institution. Swiss Jesuit Joseph Michael Willi (or Willy), the first principal of the college from 1869 to 1873, and three other Jesuits began lecturing and teaching at the college on 7 January 1869. The college was granted formal recognition by the Bombay University, on 30 January 1869. One student joined later in 1870. The first three students graduated in 1871. From 1884 to 1910, under the patronage of Principal Frederick Dreckmann, the college began to develop rapidly. The Blatter Herbarium was established in 1906 by the Swiss Jesuit priest Ethelbert Blatter and his associates. The hostel was completed in 1909, while the east–west science wing, costing Rs. 200,000, was completed in 1912. The Government provided grants of Rs. 70,000 and Rs. 37,000 for the two additional buildings of the college. The college first admitted women in 1912.
Being a German institute in British India, the college suffered wide repercussions during the First World War (1914–1918). Following the outbreak of the war, the German Jesuit priests, mainly the older ones, were interned and detained in 1914, at the college villa in Khandala, where many died. However, the younger German Jesuits were repatriated in 1916. The departure of German Jesuits led to a dislocation in the administration of the college, but it was mitigated by a few Swiss, Luxemburger, and English Jesuits. The number of lay professors increased following the withdrawal of the German Jesuits. In 1920, the enrollment of students from outside Bombay, especially Calcutta, Yangon, Mangalore, and Sindh, started increasing. Subsequently, a third floor was added to the hostel to provide accommodation facilities for them. The college started offering six more languages: Marathi, Gujarati, Urdu, Arabic, Hebrew, and Portuguese. The Spanish Jesuits arrived in 1922. By the 1920s, the college had expanded its offerings to more than just liberal arts. Science departments such as Chemistry and Biology came to be established. The Spanish Jesuit Henry Heras founded the "Indian Historical Research Institute" in 1925. The extension of the east–west science wing was completed in 1925 and opened by Leslie Orme Wilson, Governor of Bombay (1923–1926), on 26 January 1926, at an outlay of Rs. 200,000.
The following decade, the priest Gonzalo Palacios propelled massive architectural expansions, with the addition of a third floor to the east–west science wing and in April 1935 the demolition of the Chemistry shed. The General Library was shifted to the new central building providing space for over 100,000 books and 6,000 volumes of periodicals. The college took charge of the Abdulla Fazalbhoy Technical Institute for Radio and Cinema (now St. Xavier's Technical Institute) near Mahim Causeway. More rooms were added to the hostel together with a tower. The construction of the college chapel, which had begun in 1937, was completed under the reign of Principal Aloysius Coyne (1940–1949). The college hall was inaugurated in January 1937 by Lord Brabourne, Governor of Bombay (1933–1937). In August 1939, the non-degree course for the Teacher's Diploma was started, while Microbiology was revolutionized. After India's independence in 1947, Hindi began to be taught in the college from June 1949 and several new departments were instituted, such as the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (1951) and the Department of Psychology (1957).
In the later 20th century, St. Xavier's has continued to expand in student body and faculty size, and has seen the establishment of several research centers and programs. Indian Jesuits of the Bombay Province have run the college in close collaboration with the Society of Jesus in Germany and Spain.
On 18 July 2009, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the college. She conducted an interactive session with its students regarding academics and education. In November 2010 US President Barack Obama visited the college and held a town hall meeting.
Religious affiliation and ethos
The college is Roman Catholic and the Society of Jesus exercises responsibility over it through a Governing Body whose chairman is the Provincial of the Bombay Province of the Society. St. Xavier's College is named after Francis Xavier, a Spanish Jesuit saint of the 16th century who travelled to India. The college seeks to give an all-round formation, inculcating both human and spiritual values. It gives special consideration to Roman Catholics (under the minority rights enshrined in the Constitution of India) for whose education the college was founded. Currently 50% of the seats are reserved for Christians, with priority given to the Roman Catholic denomination.
Invocation The college invocation is the Ignatian :
Crest and motto The crest was designed by Fr. T. Molina in 1929, a student of heraldry and a member of the college staff. It shows an eagle teaching its young to fly. Above it, on the left side, is the emblem of the Society of Jesus, which consists of the first three Greek initials for "Jesus" set in a sun; on the right is a chequered moon, taken from the arms of the house of Xavier. The Latin motto Provocans Ad Volandum, "Challenging to Fly", is central to the ethos of the college and comes from the Bible, which mentions how the eagle encourages its young to fly (Dt. 32.11). As a whole, the crest symbolizes a college that bears the name of Xavier and is run by the Jesuits, with the ideal of educating young men and women to aim high in life.
Accreditation and assessment Since 30 January 1869, St. Xavier's College has been affiliated with the University of Mumbai. It is accredited by the university with the task of preparing students for degrees in arts, Science, and Commerce. It was made a constituent college of the university in 1953 following the Bombay University Act 1953 and received recognition by the University Grants Commission (UGC) since 1956.
In 2007, the college was awarded the highest rating A+ (5-Star) in the re-accreditation by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body linked to the University Grants Commission of India. The national India Today magazine's report on colleges has consistently rated Xavier's in the top 10 in India in recent years. In the June 2000 and June 2006 issues, Xavier's has been rated the best arts college and the second best science and commerce college in the country. The UGC awarded St. Xavier's the "College with a Potential for Excellence" award in 2006.
On 31 May 2010, St. Xavier's was granted autonomy by the University Grants Commission, thereby becoming only the second college in Mumbai to be granted such a status.
Administration
The Governing Body consists of the chairman, vice chairman, ex-officio trustees, members, the local managing committee, and an advisory council. The principal functions through the Academic Council of the three vice principals and other important officials, aided by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) which is responsible for planning and evaluation of the college. Various committees of staff and students take responsibility for the different activities of the college. The Local Managing Committee (LMC) has nine members, including the principal as the secretary and rector as the chairperson, and meets twice every year. It prepares the budget and financial statements, recommends creation of new posts, recommends measures for academic and administrative improvement, and undertakes many other vital decision-making activities. The prospective plan for institutional development is done after consecutive meetings with the Academic Council, IQAC, and the heads of the departments. The college takes measures to upgrade the skills of non-teaching staff by conducting workshops and training programmes during vacations, and by conducting sessions on personality enhancement and financial management. An Advisory Council of eminent alumni has also been constituted.
The college has ninety permanent teachers (of whom 53 are women) and an additional three full-time teachers, eleven part-time, and two teachers working as full-time on temporary assignment, raising the number of full-time teachers to 95. The teacher-student ratio is 1:33. Three teachers have been accorded special awards and recognition for their distinguished service.
Courses As of 2007, the college remains mainly an undergraduate college, with 2,648 undergraduate students and 99 postgraduate students. The syllabi for undergraduate and postgraduate courses are prepared by the University of Mumbai, and include mid-term tests and final examinations. The success rate of students is 90 to 100 percent across all departments, and 95 to 100 percent in university examinations. Special considerations are given to Catholics, economically and socially disadvantaged applicants, and students from scheduled castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Programs operated by the college include The Learning for Life Programme, Honours Programme, Social Involvement Programme, and Personality and Human Values.
Junior college courses Junior college courses in science, arts and commerce last two years. Applicants are evaluated on their performance in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination of the Mumbai Divisional Board. The commerce course has been recently began in the academic year 2022–23. Arts and Science are both aided courses while Commerce is not.
Undergraduate degree courses Undergraduate degree courses last three years. Applicants are evaluated based on their academic performance in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examination of the Mumbai Divisional Board. Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (Aided) Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) (Aided) Bachelor of Science – Information Technology (B.Sc. IT) Bachelor of Science – Data science and Artificial intelligence (B.Sc. DSAI) Bachelor of Science – Biotechnology and Computational Biology (B.Sc. BCB) Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) Bachelor of Commerce, Management Studies (B.Com. MS), formerly known as Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) Bachelor of Arts, Economics and Statistics (ECO-STATS) Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Finance (BAF) Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communication & Journalism (B.A. MCJ), formerly known as Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) Bachelor of Vocation – Software Development