Isabella Thoburn College


The Isabella Thoburn College, formerly the Lucknow Women's College and often called informally IT College, is a college for women in Lucknow, India, named after its founder, Isabella Thoburn, the first woman American missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church to sail in India 1869. The college was established in 1870 with just six girls on roll.

History

The origin of the college was in a school for girls opened by Isabella Thoburn on 18 April 1870 in one room in the city-centre bazaar of Aminabad. There were then just six girls. By 1871, the school had expanded and moved to occupy a house named Lal Bagh, which had been lived in by the treasurer of the last Nawab of Awadh.
On 12 July 1886 Miss Thoburn's school was renamed as the Lucknow Women's College and began to teach Fine Arts classes under the supervision of the University of Calcutta. In 1894, this connection was abandoned in favour of a new one with Allahabad University. Following the death of Miss Thoburn in 1901, the College, still at Lal Bagh, was given its present name in her honour. In 1923, it moved to the Chand Bagh estate of almost 32 acres, where it has remained until the present day. Chand Bagh means "Moon Garden". The property was once a royal garden. After its affiliation to Lucknow University it found requisite support and guidance from Nirmal Chandra Chaturvedi, a renowned educationist and member of the university Executive Council.
The college's Principal Sarah Chakko was the first woman president of the World Council of Churches.

Present day

The College is now affiliated to Lucknow University. The buildings it has developed on the Chand Bagh campus since the 1920s include student hostels, lecture rooms, laboratories, a library, a college chapel and a large hall. The college teaches five undergraduate courses, leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce, and Bachelor of Library and Information Science. There are also postgraduate courses leading to the degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Business Administration and to a Postgraduate Diploma in Healthcare and Hospital Management.
On 12 April 2012 the Government of India issued a new five rupee postage stamp illustrating the College.

Principals