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HISTORY
Founders
Milestones from 1915
Former Principals
Significant Events on Campus since 2006
 
 
Milestones from 1915
 

Jul 7th 1915

Founding of Women’s Christian College Courses offered – History, Logic, Philosophy, General English and Language.

May 18th 1916

The college acquires Doveton House

Jul 5th 1916

The college shifts to its new premises.

1916

WCC declared a First Grade College

1917

Formation of Alumnae Association

1919

The main hostel formally opened by Her Excellency Lady Willington.

Nov 21st 1922

Visit of Rabindranath Tagore

1923

Chapel built by Reginald Dann and Guy Jackson, Madras Quakers.

1923

St. Christopher’s Training College for women was established in the college campus. It was later shifted to its own premises.

1925

Science building inaugurated by the Governor, Lord Goshen.

Mar 24th 1925

Mahatma Gandhi visited the college.

1925

B.A. in Mathematics introduced.

1926

The college purchased ‘Riverlands’, a strip of land with a bungalow between the college and the observatory. It was used as a hostel.

1930

The infirmary was constructed.

1937

A new feature appeared on the landscape of the college – The Clock Tower.

1939

A new hostel was constructed near the imposing main hostel and named after Miss Coon.

1942

The undergraduate course in Home Science, offered for the first time by the University of Madras, was introduced in WCC.

1942

Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit, President of the All India Women’s Conference, visited the college.

1942

Day Care Center started by Miss Sykes in the Mohammedan Gardens.

1945

Founding of Christa Seva Vidyalaya which provided training in Theology and Mission Service.

1947

Persistent efforts by Miss Sykes, Mary Masillamani and Miss Manuel helped secure a plot of land on Shafee Mohammed Road. A nursery school was built there and named The McDougall Memorial Nursery School.

1947

Dr. Miss Elizabeth George was the first Indian Principal in the year of India’s Independence.

1947

Inauguration of Rivett Block before Miss Rivett retired from her post as Principal.

Sep 27th 1947

A day before the Church of South India was inaugurated, the participating Church leaders met in the college for a day of retreat.

1949 – 50

A new body called the Senate, headed by a president replaced the existing Students’ Committee, in this academic year.

1951

Women’s Christian College Association formally adopted the new constitution, vesting authority in the Local Representatives of Mission Boards.

1951

The Garden Hostel was completed and its inauguration was presided over by the then Vice Chancellor, Sir. A. Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar. Miss McDougall was an honoured guest.

1952

World Council of Churches met in the college campus.

1952

Mount Holyoke College (U.S.A.) becomes a contributing society.

1953

Majors in Physics and Chemistry were introduced.

1954

The Home Science Block was declared open by Hon. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Union Health Minister.

1956

A postgraduate course in Institution Management was introduced with the help of the University of Tennessee.

1961

The old bungalow ‘Riverlands’ was demolished and in its place the Dining Hall was built. The first meal was served in the new Dining Hall on 21st June 1961.

1962

A new hostel named after W.C.C.’s sister college, Mount Holyoke was declared open by Sri. M. Bakthavatsalam, who was the then Chief Minister of Madras State.

1965

Golden Jubilee of WCC celebrated with a public meeting presided over by Vice Chancellor Sir. A. Lakshmanaswamy Mudaliar. The Chief Minster of Madras Sri. M. Bakthavatsalam released the souvenir. The Golden Jubilee address was delivered by the Bishop of Madras the Rt. Rev. Lesslie Newbigin.

Jan 28th 1966

Foundation stone for the new Library was laid by Mrs. James Sidney Allen, President of the American Associate Board.

1967

The construction of the Library was completed with a special browsing room designated by Miss Bertha Corfield Perrill.

1971

Opening of a Laboratory Nursery School of the Home Science Department for Child Development classes.

Jul 1972

Miss Rivett passed away. A memorial service was held in the Chapel.

1973

Major in Psychology was introduced.

1973

The Carol Service of December 1973 was a special thanksgiving service to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Chapel.

1975

The Diamond Jubilee Year was celebrated.

1975

The National Conference of the Asian Women’s Institute (A forum for studying women’s issues) was held in the college. This conference was attended by the President of Ewha University in Seoul. This paved the way for introducing a course in Women’s Studies by the History Department.

Nov 16th 1978

Inauguration of the college Auditorium by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Madras Dr. G.R. Damodaran. A public meeting was held, presided over by Justice C.J.R. Paul, President of W.C.C. Association. Dr. Chandran Devanesan, Vice-Chancellor of the North-Eastern Hill University and Dr. G.R. Damodaran spoke on the occasion. The Jubilee Address was delivered by Mr. V.R. Nedunchezhiyan, the Honourable Minister for Education at that time.

1979

A state wide Regional Conference for “Planning Diet for Health” was organized by the Home Science Department.

1980 – 81

A Student’s Centre was constructed behind the Rivett Block with the help of the UGC and on the ground floor a full-fledged Canteen was inaugurated.

1982

University Grants Commission granted autonomy to the college.

1982

The college was honoured by the visit of Mother Teresa who addressed the students during the Assembly hour.

1983

W.C.C. played host tot eh delegates of a “Peace Conference” organized by the Asian Women’s Institute.

1985

“Vikaas” – A student counselling center was set up.

1986

Another popular job-oriented major – Computer Science was introduced.

1989

The Psychology Department introduced a Master’s programme.

1990

Platinum Jubilee year was celebrated. An exhibition of the history of college was organized by Miss Vera Augustus – head of the Department of History. Public meeting presided over by Dr. M.G.K. Menon.

1994

The following Vocational Training courses were introduced: Industrial Microbiology by the Department of Botany and Biotechnology by the Department of Zoology.

1995

A regional workshop sponsored by the U.G.C. for the Southern States was held in W.C.C. The theme was ‘Professional Development of Teachers of Autonomous Colleges’.

1996

An unexpected legacy from Mildred Allen – an American friend and an equal contribution from college enabled the construction of a separate Computer Science building – The Mildred Allen Block.

1997

The Evening College or the Self Financed College as it later came to be known was born with M.A. in Mass Communication as its first course.

1998 – 2003

Various new courses were introduced in the Evening College / Self Financed section. B.Com. with Maths, Business Administration and Computer Application at the undergraduate level. B.A. Corporate Economics, B.Sc. Visual Communication and B.Com. without Maths were introduced in 2003. A number of post-graduate  and doctoral courses were introduced in almost all departments both in the Day and Evening College.

2000

Completion of 85 years marked by Commemoration Service with former Principals and presided over by Bishop Rt. Rev. V. Devasahayam.

2001

Child Development Centre – a project of the Department of Psychology was started to provide comprehensive services to children between the age of 6 and 18. The Centre emphasis the need to encourage children with mental retardation to become independent and to maximize their potential.

2003

The two sections of the college referred to till then as the Day and Evening Colleges were changed in official parlance to the Aided and the Self Financed Sections.

2004

Two Inspection Commissions one from the State Government and the other from the University of Madras visited the college regarding the extension of autonomy. As a result, the college has been granted extension of autonomous status till 2007.

2004

The Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), which had become a requirement of the University of Madras was introduced in a phased manner.

March 2005

The NAAC team awarded the college an “A” grade after three days, scrutiny of all the aspects of college life.

2005

The Self-Financed section was awarded Autonomy.

Jul 7th 2005

The 90th year of W.C.C. was celebrated with a Thanksgiving Service held in the college auditorium. Rev. Dr. Mani Chacko, Principal, Gurukul Theological College and research Institute gave the Thanksgiving message. The theme was “Praise and Thanksgiving”.

Phone: 2827 5926
Fax: 2827 6798