ABOUT US

TRUSTED BY LAKHS SINCE 1948

WELCOME TO ETHIRAJ COLLEGE

Situated in the heart of the city of Chennai in 9 acres of campus area, the College stands self-contained with prestigious structures measuring a total plinth area of 3,48,751sq.ft. This admirable infrastructural facility and the sound vision on which the Institution is built, is upheld by the successive Managements, Principals, Faculty and Students and this has gained for the College the five star status from NAAC and the College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) award from the UGC. Thousands of students have passed out of the portals of the College, carrying with them the aura and dignity of the Institution itself.

These former students today occupy enviable positions all over the world from diplomatic circles, to law and order, to teaching and caring for the under-privileged. They have also won national awards for their contribution to the nation’s cultural and educational legacy. In strengthening the core competencies, the College has been making steady progress. The College has a dedicated team of 283 faculty members who maintain academic excellence and about 7335 students who are the anchor to sustain the vision of the Institution. The College has high standards of academic excellence and a constant zeal for continuous updating and renewal of skills and knowledge.

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change. – Charles Darwin

FROM THE PRINCIPALS DESK

Dr.Mrs.S.UmaGowrie [Principal & Secretary]

Innovation and inclusion being the key values of any institution in a globalized era, educational institutions cannot be an exception. As early as 1948, our founder Shri V.L. Ethiraj, an eminent lawyer and educational missionary, has set the quality parameter for inclusive education, by taking the soul-stirring decision to invest his entire savings on establishing a higher educational institution for the women, marginalized in a patriarchal society.

Today, the college stands proud with 69 years of splendid achievement and commitment to the mission of empowering young women through holistic education. It owes its present position of eminence to the dynamic boards of trustees, dedicated Principals, faculty members and vibrant students who contribute their mite to the sustenance and enhancement of the quality of the institution.

According to Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educationist and philosopher, “education becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world”. Our aim is to create worthy students who turn out to be, not only successful citizens, but also good human beings who will go the extra mile to transform this world for the better.

Cheerful attractive young woman with black hair walking

Cheerful attractive young woman with black hair walking over city street. Portrait of smiling mixed race girl using smartphone. Gadget concept

Serious woman making notes and sitting on bench outdoors

Serious woman making notes and sitting on bench outdoors. Beautiful young lady sitting with her legs crossed and city view in background. Urban lifestyle and education concept. Front view.

Positive woman making notes in outdoor cafe

Positive woman making notes in outdoor cafe. Pretty young lady wearing casual clothes and sitting at table with chairs and building in background. Education concept. Front view.

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OUR FOUNDER

“I am one of those who admire the wisdom and generosity of Late Shri. V. L. Ethiraj to which this college owes its existence” – Shri. C. Rajagopalachari

“Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these give only life, those the art of living well” – Aristotle

Ethiraj College for Women, started in 1948 was born out of the dream and vision of Shri. V.L. Ethiraj, an eminent lawyer and renowned philanthropist. It was established with a commitment to provide quality education to women with a strong emphasis on values and tradition and with the singular mission of empowering women.

Shri. V.L. Ethiraj was born on 18th July 1890, in a very respectable and affluent family. His father Thiru. Lakshmana SwamyMudaliar, was a well-known philanthropist of Thottapalayam village, in Vellore District. Shri. V.L. Ethiraj graduated from Presidency College, Chennai. He was tutored by Dr.SarvapalliRadhakrishnan, the first President of the Republic of India. A magnanimous and a wealthy barrister, he took his legal degree from the University of Dublin and on his return to India joined The Madras Bar. Within a short period, he built up a lucrative practice by his efficiency and was the first Indian to be appointed as Crown Prosecutor by the British Government.

He believed in the dictum that educating a man is educating an individual, educating a woman is educating the entire family. True to his belief, he donated his life’s earnings – a mammoth sum of Rs.10 lakhs – and the title deeds of two bungalows for providing quality education for women.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

Tmt.Chandradevi Thanikachalam

Greetings from Ethiraj College for Women.

As early as 1948, when our Founder Shri V.L. Ethiraj took the soul-stirring decision to invest his entire savings on establishing an institution of higher education, especially for marginalized women, he emerged as an agent of social change. A college is the vehicle that the youth rely on the most, to learn and advance knowledge. The vehicle we have built here is an enormously powerful one and has been highly productive over the past 65 years.

With the firm belief that the goal of true education is holistic development, the college ensures imparting values, ethics and confidence in young women to harness their full potential, thereby creating the social capital necessary for establish.

JOURNEY AND GOALS

Year	Milestone
1948	Founded
1948- 1968	Formative years with the introduction of UG courses in Economics, Botany, Chemistry, History, Zoology and English Literature (Aided Stream)
1973	Visit of Prime Minister Smt Indira Gandhi during silver jubilee of the College
1975	1st convocation held in the College
1968 – 1978	2nd formative phase with the introduction of Commerce, Mathematics and Physics at the UG level and several courses in PG (Aided Stream).
1980 – 1999	Thrust on research through the upgradation of several departments in Aided Stream with M.Phil and Ph.D programmes.
1981	Start of Evening College with the introduction of B.Com (General)
1999	Autonomy Status granted by UGC
2002	Launch of UGC funded PG course in Human Rights and Duties Education
2005	Status of College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) granted and 1st installment of the grant was received .
2005	1st rank in the Internal Quality Audit conducted by the IQAC of the University of Madras.
2009	Inception of the UGC funded Centre for Women’s Studies
2010	Dedication of Campus II to the students by Revered Former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
2012	Introduction of B.Com Honours
2013	Re-accreditation with ‘A’ grade by NAAC
2013	MOU signed with Concordia College, New York
2014	Extension of autonomy till 2018 by UGC
2014	MOUs signed with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) – UK, TVS Training and Services, Chennai, Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamilnadu and Knowledge Capital Investment Group (KCIG)
2015	Celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary of the Founder Shri V.L.Ethiraj and also unveiling of new OAT, in Campus II
2016	Introduction of B.Com Accounting and Finance and P.G Course in Commerce
2019	The College got 38th rank among hundreds of Colleges in India according to NIRF ranking.
2019	Guinness World Record for “Longest Stage Play for 28hrs 34mins 43seconds” by Ethirajians.

History Of The College

Founded in 1948, the formative years witnessed a strong foundation through introduction of undergraduate (UG) courses in Economics, Botany, Chemistry, History, Zoology and English Literature along with the infrastructural facilities, resulting in the construction of the Science Block, Hostel, Open Air Theatre and the Old Library Block. The landmark development of this decade was the auditorium, which to this day remains the pride of the College. The decade of 1968 – 1978 saw the growth of the College with the introduction of Commerce, Mathematics and Physics at the UG level, and a number of post-graduate (PG) courses and the construction of the PG block.

A significant development of the next phase was the introduction of Evening College in 1981. Now, the thrust was on research with the introduction of M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes. The addition of the Annexe Campus of 59 grounds augured a new direction in the growth of the College. 1990-2000 saw a steady growth with the introduction of a variety of job oriented self-funded UG courses like Corporate Secretaryship, B.Com (Bank Management), BBA (Business Administration), B.Sc. Biochemistry, B.Sc. Microbiology and M.Sc. Plant Biology & Plant Bio-technology and the introduction of post-graduate AICTE approved courses, MBA and MCA, which was an important milestone in the growth of the College. The construction of New Science Block and dormitories for the hostel marked this new phase of development.

The beginning of the next decade, witnessed the Day College becoming autonomous along with a momentous growth of the College in its infrastructure: the N & D block, COE block, New Library, New hostel, Business Studies and Information Technology Block, all adding up to 2,66,000 sq. ft. Besides these, the College acquired a Language Lab and an Instrumentation Centre besides establishing online access to the holdings in the Library, Internet Centre and Computer Labs. The College entered the global arena by signing a MOU with the British Council for teaching Business English Certificate and First Certificate in English.

The core competency has been strengthened in many ways to suit the changing scenario. In the Aided stream, Botany was converted into Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, one section of History into Tourism and Travel Management, two sections of Zoology into Advanced Zoology and Biotechnology. In the Self-supporting stream, Economics was converted into Business Economics and one section of English to English and Communication Skills. At the PG level, a course in Human Rights and Duties Education was introduced during 2002. New courses namely, B.Sc. Clinical Nutrition, M.Sc. Physics, M.Sc. Foods & Nutrition were also introduced from 2005 in the Self-supporting stream. In 2006, B.Sc. Visual Communication, M.Sc. Biochemistry and M.Sc. Microbiology were introduced.

To holistically develop women, by imparting knowledge, value systems, technological competencies and global skill sets.

To harness their full potential to prepare them to be responsible citizens, compassionate leaders, agents of social change and participants in the National Development.

To promote experiential learning through application of knowledge to new challenges.
To build computer competency in youth to align themselves with the world market and become global human resources.
To raise the status of the Institution to the inevitable locus of basic and applied research.
To constitute the backbone of the country’s information infrastructure by providing through the vast resources of the library, the conduits of knowledge.
To provide the social capital necessary for establishing a healthy society by imparting values, ethics and confidence in young women.