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| Motto | Nihil Ultra (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Nothing Beyond |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 16 January 1860; 165 years ago (16 January 1860) |
| Founder | Society of Jesus |
Religious affiliation | Roman Catholic (Jesuit) |
Academic affiliation | University of Calcutta |
| Rector | Rev. Fr. Jeyaraj Veluswamy, SJ[1] |
| Principal | Rev. Fr. Dominic Savio, SJ[1] |
| Location | 30, Park Street Kolkata – 700016 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Green & Yellow |
| Nickname | The Xaverians |
| Website | www |
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St. Xavier's College is aprivate,Catholic, autonomouscollege inKolkata, India, run by the Calcutta Province of theSociety of Jesus (Jesuits). Founded in 1860, it is named afterSt. Francis Xavier, aJesuit saint of the 16th century, who travelled to India. In 2006, it became the first autonomous college inWest Bengal. The college is affiliated to theUniversity of Calcutta.[2]
In 2024, St. Xavier's was ranked sixth among colleges in India by theNational Institutional Ranking Framework.[3]
The college was founded in 1860 by theJesuits, an all-maleCatholic religious order formed bySaint Ignatius of Loyola. The college is named afterFrancis Xavier, the 16th century Spanish Jesuit saint. The founder of the college was Father Henri Depelchin, SJ. He oversaw most of the ground work, during the foundation years. The college'scoat of arms has remained the same, since it was undertaken in 1905.[4]
Before 1843, the Sans Souci theatre was located at 30Park Street (now Mother Teresa Sarani, Kolkata-700016). In that year a fire broke out, leaving nothing but ashes. The site was later bought by seven Jesuits, who had arrived from Belgium. It is here that the present day campus stands tall.[5]
The present 30, Park Street address where the college is situated, is an amalgamation of numbers 10 and 11, Park Street. Premise number 11, was bought for Rs 45,000.00, by Fr. Depelchen. These funds were made possible with the generous donations of theAnglo-Indians and with help from the home province of Belgium. Park Street is located in the heart ofKolkata and is a landmark street in the city, a melting pot of its diverse cultural, culinary, social and intellectual milieu.
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The college's very first class had only forty students. In 1862, two years after its inception, the college was affiliated to the Calcutta University.
However, there was a shortage of funds for expansion work in terms of class rooms and to accommodate the Jesuit fathers. So the Rector appealed to the public of Calcutta in newspapers for generous assistance and was responded to with magnanimity by well wishers of the city in 1864. Besides Fr Depelchin and his assistant, Br. Koppes the builder went around personally collecting funds. The present imposing five-storey building was built in an interval of six years, from 1934 to 1940, at a cost of Rs 9 lakhs, which was collected partly from the public of Calcutta, assistance from Belgium, and the huge rental received from the American army that occupied the building during the Second War.[6][7] Expansion of the college has been a ceaseless effort, with a campus slated to come up inSalt Lake City, Kolkata and a second boys' hostel not far away from the existing one.
The Goethals library, which is located above the College Chapel, houses some of the oldest periodicals, journals and books at the university. The treasures were inherited by the Jesuit Fathers in 1908, from the then Archbishop of Calcutta,Paul Goethals, S.J. Today, the treasures are well preserved and the library has become a spot of historical significance.
A commemorative stamp was issued by theIndian Post on 12 April 1985 depicting the college campus. Thus recognizing the college's contribution to society.[6]
The college has morning batch for boys only, that offers theBachelor of Commerce degree. The day section of the college houses thearts andscience departments which offer undergraduate (honours) degrees in various subjects like English,Bengali,political science,sociology,microbiology,computer science,animation andmultimedia,mass communication andvideography,mathematics,chemistry,physics, andeconomics. Masters programs incommerce (evening session),biotechnology (integrated five-year MSc), physics, microbiology and education are housed in the college along with the co-educational Bachelor of Commerce (evening) andBachelor of Business Administration programs.[8] The college has also introduced post-graduate programmes in English, political science and sociology since 2019.
The college, in its first ever foreign collaboration, has entered into a tie-up with theUniversity of Manitoba, Canada. The MOU was unveiled on 4 Feb 2008 by the principal of the college, Father PC Mathew and the dean of the faculty of food and agricultural sciences at theUniversity of Manitoba, Professor Michael Trevan.[9]
The college classes are spread over four floors across two buildings. There are over 50 classrooms, half a dozen audio-visual rooms and three computer laboratories, each with a capacity to seat over 70 people.
The college also has physics, chemistry and biotechnology laboratories to support the requirements of their respective departments; the Mass Communication and Videography department has a video library to assist its film students. The Central Library, spread over two floors, houses reference books from a gamut of different subjects, in addition to numerous periodicals, again from diverse fields; scientific journals and archives are also available as are books on fiction. The auditorium has a seating capacity of over 800 people. The football, and basketball courts are behind the main college building and are shared between the college students and the students of St. Xavier's Collegiate School, the secondary section of which is housed in an adjacent flank of the college building.
The canteen, the "Green Benches": a wi-fi enabled, student hangout area and Fr. Joris's Corner, an in-house stationery shop, are located parallel to the sports grounds. These are popular places during off periods and breaks.[10]
The "Green Benches" has become the best place in the campus for hanging out and having fun. The spot has a citywide reputation for socializing and indulging in 'intelligent talks' with classmates.
The college has a culture of festivals- inter- and intra-college that span its academic calendar; that apart, the college campus and auditorium are often chosen as venues by outsider parties, in collaboration with the college, to host discussions and events. The college has also played host to numerous celebrity guests:
Apart from doing service to the community in the educational sphere, St. Xavier's is also involved in theenvironmental issues, youth welfare, women's welfare and poverty reduction.
The college has an elected non-political student body called St. Xavier's College Student Council (SXCSC) which co-ordinates all the cultural activities on the campus.
The college also has many active clubs, which are aimed at building leadership, creativity and managerial qualities in students. A list of clubs and societies are mentioned below:[11]
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The college has facilities for playing sports and activities such as: football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, cricket, table tennis, badminton,carrom andfoosball. These games are played throughout the year at both intra-college and inter-college levels.
A sports day is organised, every year in December. Students of the college, compete in various track and field events, on this day, amidst huge audiences from all over the city.
St. Xavier's College has some of the best festivals at the Undergraduate level in the country.
St. Xavier's is the only English medium college to have separate festivals for Hindi and Bengali.
A list of magazines that college students publish every year. These magazines are widely appreciated in academic circles:
Prayas, a 3-day boot camp aimed at making underprivileged kids aware of the need of higher education was started in 2006 by the then principal of the college, Rev. Felix Raj, S.J. In the boot-camp, underprivileged children are brought to the college campus from nearby villages and slums for a fun filled day of activity and entertainment. The children are provided with free meals and gifts. This festival is organized by the social work department (under theNational Service Scheme) of the university.[27]
The college has a very active alumni association known as SXCAA, whose principal is the college president.[28] The association supports the college in several projects by extending financial and managerial assistance. SXCAA is registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act.[29] It was the first alumni association in Kolkata to be granted 80G Certification from the Income Tax Department, acknowledging SXCAA's philanthropic activities.
SXCAA has been expanding its reach to ex-students by opening chapters in several cities around the world, includingBengaluru,Mumbai,Delhi,Singapore,London,Dubai,New York andDhaka.[30]
Project 'Lakshaya' was launched by the college to invite donations from alumni to fund a new campus.[31] TheGovernment of West Bengal allotted the college 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land at Rajarhat (New Town) for the new campus. The land will cost a subsidized 64 crores.[32]
As of 2024, the college is ranked 6th in India by theNational Institutional Ranking Framework.[33]
| Department/Course | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce/B.Com | 2nd[34] | 2nd[35] | 2nd[34] | 2nd[35] | 1st[36] | 2nd[37] | 3rd[37] |
| Science/BSc | 4th[38] | 3rd[39] | 5th[40] | 3rd[41] | 5th[42] | 2nd[41] | 8th[42] |
| Arts/BA | 5th[38] | 7th[43] | 5th[44] | 5th[44] | 9th[45] | 5th[45] | 6th[45] |
 | This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(February 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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