St. Philomena's College 5.44

A Bishop's dream and a Maharaja's munificence culminated in the establishment of St. Philomena's College on October 9, 1946. His Excellency the Rt. Rev. Dr. Rene Feuga, the First Bishop of Mysore, vacated his mansion to make room for classes and the Wodeyars, the Mysore Royal family, donated 29 acres of land to the college.

The College was declared open by His Highness Sri Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, Maharaja of Mysore- a rare honour and privilege for any institution.

It was history in the making in more ways than one and the first group of 380 Philomenites was aware of it. They knew that they were stepping into the very first of the First Grade Colleges in the Royal City, affiliated to the University of Mysore. Even more importantly, St. Philomena's was the first private Degree Science College in the erstwhile Mysore Region.

Before its foundation, the college received its motto-from His Holiness the Pope. The Holy Father chose the maxim-Caritas vestra magis ac magis abundet in scientia- May your love grow richer in knowledge. Caritas in scientia - the first and last words of the quotation - became the motto of the college.

All through her fledgling years, the college's future was shaped by teachers of outstanding calibre, among them the doyen of the Modern Movement in Kannada poetry, Prof. Gopalakrishna Adiga and the renowned space scientist and former Chairman of ISRO, Prof. U.R. Rao and a host of other great pioneering Principals and teachers.

Now, 63 years later, the student strength has multiplied manifold, buildings have mushroomed and courses and infrastructure have proliferated. Each year, St. Philomena's re-invents itself to adjust to the needs of a fast-changing world, harmonizing the new with the old. Old blocks, new blocks - the process continues, adding to the diversity of the campus. Traditional courses co-exist with the newer, more challenging and contemporary courses such as Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Electronics, Computer Science, Social Work, Communication and Journalism, UGC-sponsored vocational course in Functional English. Bachelor of of Business Management (BBM), Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) and UGC Add On courses in Biotechnology, Industrial Chemistry, Electric and Electronic Equipment Maintenance and Computer Networking.

As the college races past yet another milestone in history - its Diamond Jubilee - many signposts stand out along the way.