Institution Profile

Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi

Promoted in 1956 with the objective of providing higher education to women in post-independence India, LSR is widely acclaimed as India’s finest all-women’s college for liberal arts education

The year-long golden jubilee celebrations of Lady Shri Ram College (LSR), widely acclaimed as India’s finest all-women’s college for liberal arts education, which began in July last year will culminate next month in a gala ceremony felicitating 50 of its most illustrious alumnae. A high-powered panel is currently finalising the awards list from a roll call which includes Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi; Naina Lal Kidwai, chief executive of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (India); Sushma Berlia (first woman president of PHDCC); Vimla Mehra (joint commissioner of Delhi Police); Lillette Dubey (actress); Nonita Lall Qureshi (Arjuna awardee golfer); and Nidhi Razdan (New Delhi Television anchor), among others who have distinguished themselves in business, academics, sports and social work.

Promoted in 1956 with the objective of providing higher education to women in post-independence India by the late Lala Shri Ram, public-spirited chairman of the DCM group of companies, in a school building in Daryaganj with 243 students, nine faculty members and three study programmes, LSR has come a long way since. Sited in the heart of south Delhi on a compact 15-acre campus, LSR today boasts an enroll-ment of 2,000 students pursuing 16 study programmes, mentored by 150 faculty. In June 2005 it was ranked as India’s No. 1 liberal arts college by the Delhi-based news weekly India Today.

Since their commencement last July, the golden jubilee celebrations have featured special seminars, guest lectures, workshops, paper presen-tations and symposia on a diverse range of subjects, in addition to film, performing arts, sports and theatre festivals. A distinguishing feature of these events is that they combine academic focus with extra-curricular achievement — a characteristic reflective of LSR’s larger objective of dispensing holistic education and shaping women leaders.

"LSR is recognised as an institution of higher education which nurtures intellectual development coupled with vibrant extra-curricular activity, outreach initiatives and civic engagement. An LSR education enables women to reconcile excellence with humanity, to celebrate diversity and redefine notions of success. Our focus is on liberating women to look beyond traditional horizons. Our students are made to understand that with the power of knowledge, comes the responsibility to translate it into creative citizenship. LSR students are empowered with professional competence, ability to assume positions of leadership with ease, and shatter inhibitory glass ceilings," says Dr. Meenakshi Gopinath, an alumna of LSR and University of Massachusetts and incumbent principal of Lady Shri Ram. She is also the founder director of WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace) and member of several multi-track peace initiatives in Kashmir and Pakistan.

According to Gopinath, LSR is an exclusively liberal arts college, i.e it doesn’t offer science related study programmes. Currently its academic menu includes 16 undergraduate and postgrad programmes in the social sciences, humanities and commerce. In addition, it offers a B.Sc. programme in statistics and professional (diploma) courses in journalism and elementary education. A two-year diploma in conflict transfor-mation and peace-building is a new study programme open to undergrad and graduate students, NGO workers, media persons and grassroots workers. Moreover several short-term certificate courses in art appreciation, women and politics, communication skills, language courses in French, Russian and Spanish are also offered at LSR.

Spread over 15 acres of prime real estate in south Delhi, despite the embarassingly modest tuition fees it demands of students, LSR boasts contemporary infrastructure including a newly refurbished, computerised user- friendly library with internet access and 98,000 books, 5,000 bound volumes and audio-visual cassettes; arguably the best student’s cafetaria in Delhi University and a counselling and placement cell. Sports training in chess, table tennis, lawn tennis, basketball, golf, volleyball besides martial arts and judo is also available. For out-of-town students, the immaculate LSR campus houses a residence for 300 women students with an in-house library and dispensary.

With 22 varied societies, the college provides students numerous opportunities to develop their creative talent and life skills. Apart from music, dance, debating and dramatics, LSR hosts student societies such as Prakriti (environmental awareness), Abhaya (women’s development cell), Dhyana (society for consciousness and awareness), and WUS (World University Service). An annual festival, Tarang, is a cultural mélange of the performing, visual and literary arts. The variety of events and diversity of participants makes Tarang one of the most celebrated college festivals of Delhi University.

In keeping with the temper of the globalising Indian economy, the LSR management has taken the lead in developing international academic linkages. It has student and faculty exchange partnerships with several foreign universities including La Trobe University, Australia and Brown University and Smith College in the US. Under these accords, students from La Trobe and Brown universities are given credits for studying at LSR and vice versa. An exchange of young scholars with the National University of Singapore is under negotiation and the college’s department of English has a faculty exchange programme with Kenyon College, USA under the aegis of the Fulbright Alumna Initiative.

"A journey well begun, has infinite potential to evolve further, setting newer standards of excellence. Our vision is to see that LSR finds its rightful place in the landscape of international education. All our efforts will be towards realising what we feel are attainable and in some sense inevitable goals," says Gopinath.

Admission and fees

Admission into the undergraduate study programmes is based on aggregate marks obtained in Plus Two. In the case of English, journalism and elementary education, an entrance test is held. Number of admission seats available annually are 700.

Undergrad programmes (BA). Commerce, economics, English, Hindi, history, maths, statistics, philosophy, political science, psychology and sociology
Professional courses. Journalism, elementary education, conflict transformation and peace building
Postgraduate programmes. Commerce, English, Hindi, history, mathematics, philosophy, political science, and psychology

Annual tuition fees. Rs.6,200-9,300
Residential fee. Rs.22,000 per annum

For further details contact the Principal, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi; Ph: 011 26460400; e-mail: website: www.lsrcollege.org.

Autar Nehru (Delhi)

Williams College, USA

Established in 1793 this institution was recently ranked America’s #1 undergrad liberal arts college by US News & World Report

Within the elite club of America’s globally renowned undergrad liberal arts colleges — Amherst, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore — Williams College enjoys a formidable, even if relatively low profile reputation. Recently US News & World Report ranked Williams College as the # 1 liberal arts college in America (followed by Amherst). This 213-year-old institution sited in Williamstown, Massachusetts has the largest endowment of any humanities college in the US with over $1.5 billion (Rs.6,750 crore) in assets, and has produced 37 Rhodes scholars, the highest of any liberal arts college in the country.

Established in 1793 with a modest endowment from Colonel Ephraim Williams, the college is a private, residential, co-education institution providing liberal arts (humanities, social sciences, maths and science) education to 2,000 undergrad students. Its three academic divisions (humanities, sciences, social sciences), offer 33 major degree and elective programmes. It does not offer any professional programmes (engineering, business or medicine).

Says Morton Owen Schapiro, who took charge as president of Williams College in the year 2000: "With a spectacularly talented and devoted faculty and staff, great physical and financial wealth, and the absolute finest students in all of American higher education, we are obligated to realise a vision of educational excellence worthy of our extraordinary resources. We have never wavered in understanding that our mission is to provide the highest quality undergraduate education possible, centred on an appreciation, indeed a love of the liberal arts."

Williamstown. A small New England town of some 10,000 inhabitants in the Berkshire Hills of northwestern Massachusetts, Williamstown is three hours by road from New York and Boston. Surrounded by hills and dales, this idyllic town, better known as the home of Williams College boasts many natural attractions such as the Hopkins Memorial Forest, the Mount Greylock Reservation, Sand Springs, the Hoosic and Green rivers, and the Taconic Range of hills.

Theatre enthusiasts have the chance to catch over 200 performances of classical and new plays during the Williamstown Theatre Festival, an annual event that runs from mid June to late August. The city’s Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute showcases an extensive collection of French impressionist art. Cultural landmarks and scenic landscapes apart, Williamstown buzzes with pubs, restaurants, bars and shops where students can chill.

Campus facilities. Williams College sprawls across 450 acres comprising over 100 academic, athletic, and residential buildings including the new ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance; the Hopkins Observatory, the oldest extant astronomical observatory in America; a student health centre; a chapel, and a Jewish synagogue. The Williams College Museum of Art houses 12,000 works spanning the history of art. In addition Williams owns the neighbouring Hopkins Memorial Forest (2,500 acres).

There are an aggregate 862,940 volumes in the Sawyer, Schow Science, and Matt Cole libraries and 54,068 in the Chapin Rare Books Library, which also houses several founding documents of the United States including original printings of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. A cooperative programme with the library of the Clark Art Institute, (one of the major art reference and research libraries in the US), provides on-site use of the institute’s collections. Clark Art Institute’s resources include approximately 200,000 books, bound periodicals, auction catalogues, and current journal subscriptions numbering around 650.

Located in the heart of the Williams campus, the John Wesley Chandler Athletic Center houses a gymnasium, swimming pool, fitness centre, indoor rowing tank, basketball and volleyball courts, indoor and outdoor athletic tracks, hockey and soccer fields. Moreover Williams has many student organisations classified into eight main groups: arts, diversity, religious/ spiritual, special interest, student media, service, club sports and governance.

Admission. Each year the Williams Committee on Admission reviews approximately 5,800 admission applications, including about 800 from international students for an entering class of 530. The admission process is highly selective, with less than 20 percent of applicants being admitted. "To be considered for admission, applicants must have outstanding academic credentials and significant involvement in non-academic school and community activities," says a college spokesperson.

The minimum eligibility requirements for admission into Williams’ undergrad programmes are successful completion of Plus Two and English language proficiency. Application requirements include: admission application, an essay by the student applicant; letters of recommendation from two teachers plus one from a counsellor or academic advisor; secondary school report, with official transcripts of grades or exam results; official results of the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and two SAT subject tests and an application fee of $60 (Rs.2,700).

Students who are not native English speakers should take the Writing (in English) test as part of SAT-II. Admission applications must reach the college before January 1 for entry into the academic year beginning September. For further information contact Williams College Office of Admission, 33 Stetson Court, Williamstown, MA 01267; Ph: 413 597 2211; e-mail: admission@williams. edu; website: www.williams.edu.

As of the Fall of 2001, Williams does not distinguish between nationals and international applicants on the basis of their financial background. The college management is committed to a needs-blind financial aid policy toward all applicants and will meet the demonstrated financial needs of all students. In addition to funding tuition, room and board, aid packages include yearly travel, textbook and personal spending allowances.

Accommodation. Williams is a residential college with over 96 percent of students living in campus housing. Accommodation options range in size from small co-operatives where senior students cook and clean for themselves, to larger residence halls divided into suites and groups. First-year students live in ‘entries’ of approximately 25 students headed by a pair of junior advisors (third year students). First-year students share six residence halls (Sage, Williams, Mills, Dennett, Armstrong, and Pratt) and are housed in singles, doubles, and suites.

Degree programmes. Williams offers a four year undergrad study programme in liberal arts (see box). As a liberal arts college, it does not offer professional courses, such as business, medicine or engineering. First year students elect courses in four different academic departments or programmes per semester. In subsequent years, students continue to elect courses from different fields of study, choosing to pursue some subjects intensively. Based on the first two years of elective courses, a student selects a ‘major’ field of study, but at no time do students study only one or two subjects.