Women's Christian College is a reputed interdenominational women's college on College Road, Nungambakkam, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
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History
The Women's Christian College was founded in 1915 with 41 students and 7 faculty members, as a result of the joint venture of 12 missionary societies of interdenominational and international nature located in England, in Canada and in U.S.A., with a mission to provide higher education to women of India in liberal arts and sciences. The motto of the college is "Lighted to lighten". It was affiliated to the University of Madras and was given recognition as an autonomous college in 1982. At present it is a government-aided minority institution. It has grown to a strength of over 4252 students and 209 members of faculty in the aided and self-financing sections.
India's first female political prisoner and freedom fighter Rukmani Lakshmipathy was a first batch student.
Principals
Eleanor McDougall, 1915–1938
Eleanor Rivett, 1938–1947
Elizabeth George, 1947–1950
Eleanor D. Mason, 1950–1956
Renuka Mukerji, 1956–1965
Anna T. Zachariah, 1965–1971
Renuka Somasekhar, 1971–1981
Indrani Michael, 1981–1994
Kanmani Christian, 1994–1998
Glory Christopher, 1998–2003
Rita Jacob Cherian, 2003–2006
Ridling Margaret Waller 2006–2017
Lilian I Jasper, 2017–Present
Sister college
Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, U.S., has been Women's Christian College's sister college since 1920. Both Mount Holyoke Culturals and Mount Holyoke Hostel (dormitory) at Women's Christian College refer to this.
Rankings
The college is ranked 67th among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2024.
Notable alumni
Megha Akash, actress
Subhashini Ali, politician
Regina Cassandra, actress and model
Vandana Gopikumar, social worker and co-founder of The Banyan
Andrea Jeremiah, singer and actress
Shekinah Jacob, playwright
Sudha Kongara Prasad, director
Anaswara Kumar, actress
Rukmini Lakshmipathi, freedom fighter and first women minister in Madras Presidency
M. Sarada Menon, psychiatrist and Padma Bhushan awardee
Reshmi Menon, actress
Sonajharia Minz, vice-chancellor at Sido Kanhu Murmu University
C. B. Muthamma, India's first woman civil servant
Shoba Narayan, journalist
Thangam Philip, nutritionist and Padma Shri awardee
Heera Rajagopal, actress
Mallika Srinivasan, industrialist
Roopa Unnikrishnan, sports shooter