Loyola College, Chennai

Infobox University
motto = Luceat Lux Vestra ("Let your Light Shine")
name = Loyola College


established = 1925
Principal = Rev. Fr.A. Albert Muthumalai, S.J.
type = Autonomous
city = Chennai | state = Tamil Nadu
campus = Urban
country = India | undergrad =
postgrad =
faculty =
free_label =
free =
mascot =
website = [http://loyolacollege.edu loyolacollege.edu]

Loyola College is a Jesuit college in Chennai, India. It is among the elite colleges in India, presently ranked at no. 1 in the Arts and Sciences and at no. 3 in Commerce. The College offers courses in the arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and commerce. It is autonomous, but affiliated with the University of Madras, which grants the degrees.fact|date=November 2007

History

It was founded in 1925 by a French Jesuit, Father Francis Bertram, with the support of a group of Jesuit priests who had had their grounding at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and the London School of Economics.fact|date=November 2007

Academics

The College offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and was ranked the number one college or institution for Science programmes in India by "India Today" in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. In 2007 it achieved the unique distinction of being ranked first in both science and arts. The Arts stream includes subjects such as economics, history, English, and sociology. The College has also been placed in the top ten institutions in India for arts, sciences, and commerce.fact|date=November 2007

The college follows a credit-based trimester pattern, unlike most Madras University-affiliated colleges.fact|date=November 2007 Undergraduate students have to pass all examinations and obtain at least 90 credits in three years to be eligible for a degree. For non-academic credits, students can enrol in associations such as Rotaract, Enviro Club and AICUF.

The college is located on an 88-acre sprawling campus in the heart of the city of Chennai in Nungambakkam. Its tree-lined pathways, steepled chapel, and sprawling grounds are a landmark in the southern metropolis. Its alumni include a former President of India, the current Finance Minister of India, the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and several distinguished foreign and civil service servants.fact|date=November 2007

The college has been conferred as a "College with Potential For Excellence" by the University Grants Commission. It was also given a Rs.10 Million grant (1 Crore) in 2006 by the UGC for the continual improvement of the college.fact|date=November 2007

Notable alumni

*Rev.Fr. A.Albert Muthumalai, current principal of Loyola College.
*Ramaswamy Venkataraman, former President of India
*Dr Rangaswamy Srinivasan, inventor of LASIK laser surgery, IBM Research Labs, USA
*Dr. Paul Ratnasamy, Former Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
*Dr S Rajappa, Former Deputy Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
*Dr. Dr. A.V. Ramaswamy, Former Deputy Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
*Dr. S. Sivasanker, Former Deputy Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
*Dr. P Ganguly, Former Deputy Director, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune
*C. Rangarajan, former Governor, Reserve Bank of India
* Dayanidhi Maran, Member of Parliament, Former Minister for communication and Information Technology, Government of India
*D. Simon Lourdusamy, Cardinal of the Roman Catholic church
*Vishwanathan Anand, World Chess Champion
*C. K. Prahalad, management writer
*Ramanathan Krishnan Tennis Player
*Ramesh Krishnan Tennis Player
*Vijay & Anand Amritraj, tennis players
*Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
*Verghese Kurien, architect of India's dairy development program Operation Flood.
*P.Chidambaram,Present Finance Minister of India
*Arjun Appadurai, founder of the School of International Relations, Delhi, which is now part of Jawaharlal Nehru University
*Sultan M. Shah, Indian hockey team (1973–74)
*Ajit Shetty, engineer, businessman
*Vikram Aditya Menon, tennis player, Chennai
*Dr. N.Ram,current editor of The Hindu, one of India's leading newspapers.
*P.Sainath, Journalist, winner of the magsaysay award and leading anti-globalisation writer.Current Rural-Affairs editor for The Hindu.

Alumni in theatre and cinema

* Arvind Swamy (actor)Kollywood actor.
* Vijay, leading Kollywood actor.
* Surya, leading Kollywood actor.
* Vikram, leading Kollywood actor.
* Yuvan Shankar Raja, South Indian music director
* K. V. Anand, Kollywood Cinematographer
* Karthik Raja, South Indian music director
* S. J. Suryah, leading Kollywood director.
* Mahesh Babu, leading Tollywood actor
* Jayam Ravi, Kollywood actor.
* Vishal Reddy, Kollywood actor.
* Karthik Sivakumar, young Kollywood actor
* Arun Vijay Kumar, Kollywood actor.
* Vishnuvardhan, Kollywood director.
* Varun Reddy, Kollywood actor
* A.M. Ganesh, producer.

Notable present students

*Aasis Vinayak PG, researcher, inventor, columnist, free software activist

External links

* [http://www.loyolacollege.edu/ Official website]
* [http://www.geocities.com/athens/6166/loyola.html/ Unofficial Alumni Directory]
* [http://loyolachemistry.blogspot.com/ Unofficial Chemistry Alumni Blog]
* [http://www.papyrusclubs.com/loyolachn01 College's Online News Journal]