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St. Xavier’s College was privileged to have Dr. Binayak Sen once again as a speaker, this time at the Conclave, a part of Malhar - 2011, our Inter-collegiate Cultural Festival. He had earlier been convicted of Sedition by a Raipur Sessions Court and imprisoned. We are happy that he has now been granted bail by the Supreme Court of India.
All of us can reel off a list of names of those who should be in jail and are not. The latter know how to manipulate the system in order to shamelessly run free. Dr. Binayak Sen, who has spent long years of his life serving the poorest of India’s poor, in one of the poorest areas of our rich country, hardly deserves such treatment. Dozens of Nobel Prize winners across the world had appealed for his release pending a fair trial in the Supreme Court.

St. Xavier's College was privileged to host President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on campus for a series of events culminating in a Town-Hall type of meeting with 300 students - chosen from 6 colleges of the city, including the host college - arguably among the best students of the country. Two prior events: an interaction with Agricultural Innovation Technology leaders, and a glimpse, with Mr. Sam Pitroda, of how technology caters to furthering the aims of democracy in a large country like India, were the prelude to both Michelle Obama and then President Obama interacting intensely with the students.

President Obama was very gracious in taking questions from 6 students picked randomly from around the stage (every student seemed to have his or her hand up!) and answering them patiently and exhaustively, questions that centered on issues of world concern including terrorism, the economy, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even the relevance of values and of inspirational leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.
But it was the three questions posed by President Obama himself to the students, that were the most impressive and thought-provoking:
1. What do you want India to look like in 20 years?
2. How would you like the relations to be between India and the U.S. 20 years from now?
3. What contribution would YOU like to make in the world, to make it a better place?

St. Xavier's College was delighted to host this event in its heritage campus. The event was organised by the U.S. Consulate General of Mumbai, with the collaboration of Indian NGOs and industry and with the solid security arrangements of the Mumbai Police, in collaboration with the Secret Service of the U.S. The College presented the President with a copy of its Coffeetable Book, "Celebrating Diversity", which marks 140 years of its existence. We are grateful to all who contributed to the immense success of the day.

St. Xavier's gets Academic Autonomy from the Academic Year 2010-11
There comes a time in the life of every organisation, when it is presented with the opportunity for a quantum leap in its ability to fulfill its mission. For St. Xavier’s College, that time is NOW!
St. Xavier’s College is proud to announce that it is an Autonomous College under the University of Mumbai from the academic year 2010-11. Xavier’s applied for Academic Autonomy in October 2007. It was granted permission for this, after due process, by the University of Mumbai, in March 2009 and by the Government of Maharashtra in August 2009. Finally after a review committee from the University Grants Commission visited the College in early April 2010, the application for Autonomy was considered by the Commission at its meeting on the 4th of May 2010. The UGC permission for the Autonomous status for 6 years, from the academic year 2010-11 has just been received as we prepare for the New Academic Year. The University notification of Autonomous status has been effected from the 16th of June 2010.
Academic Autonomy places trust in the Faculty of St. Xavier’s College to take up the responsibility of designing its own courses, framing its own syllabii and conducting its own evaluation for its students. This is a system of academic freedom mandated by the UGC and implemented in other Universities of the country for about 30 years. This does not mean financial autonomy. The Government of Maharashtra will continue to provide funding as before and the University of Mumbai will continue to grant our students their degrees. The fees will remain the same as stipulated by the University of Mumbai. St. Xavier’s is grateful for the opportunity of implementing Autonomy, as it will help the College to upgrade the quality of its education, in keeping with the capability of its competent and dedicated faculty and the excellent students it draws from all over the country.
St. Xavier’s College has prepared intensively for Autonomy over the last 3 years, working out its Credit System, Semester System and its System of Continuous Internal Evaluation, with Faculty visits to other Autonomous Colleges in Chennai and Bangalore, with Faculty Seminars and Workshops and with training in different methods of evaluation. The faculty also draws on its long experience of innovation in educational pedagogy practiced through its Honours' Programme and other initiatives. The College is confident that it will succeed in meeting the aspiration of its students and of Indian society, in bringing international quality Higher Education to its beautiful heritage campus.
Autonomy will apply only to the newly admitted First Year Students of the undergraduate courses in 2010-11 and then progressively to the other years of study in the academic years ahead. Those students in their Second or Third Years of study during this academic year 2010-11, will continue with the system they started with under the University of Mumbai curriculum and evaluation.
WE WELCOME STUDENTS TO JOIN ST. XAVIER'S COLLEGE, MUMBAI, AUTONOMOUS, for their First Year Undergraduate Courses.

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Dr. Frazer Mascarenhas S.J.
Principal, St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
www.xaviers.edu principal@xaviers.edu