2 days ago
208 years on, CMS College gets 1st woman principal
Kottayam: For the first time in its 208-year history, CMS College, one of the oldest colleges in South India, has appointed a woman principal. Anju Sosan George, an associate professor in the English department, has been formally appointed as the 29th principal of the college, which is run by the Church of South India (CSI) Madhya Kerala Diocese.
Anju had been serving as principal-in-charge since 2024, following the retirement of former principal Varghese Joshua. She joined the college's English department in 2007. She completed her undergraduate studies at Madras Christian College in 2004 and earned her postgraduate degree from Stella Maris College, Chennai, in 2006. In 2008, she received her MPhil from Madurai Kamaraj University, and in 2019, she was awarded a PhD in Disability Studies from the University of Kerala.
Speaking to TOI, Anju expressed gratitude to God for her new role, stating that she is eagerly looking forward to the challenges it brings. She said history was being created as society and the system evolved. "Change is happening everywhere. There were many women leaders in various fields. It just happened that I too became a part of it." Anju aims to make undergraduate courses more industry-aligned and employment-friendly.
"Each student that goes out of this college should secure jobs and we will be trying to make the student equipped for that."
Babu Cherian, a former professor, said that it was significant—and long overdue—that a woman was finally appointed principal after more than two centuries. He noted the CSI Church was the first mainstream church in India to appoint a woman bishop. In 2013, Rev E Pushpa Lalitha became bishop of the CSI's Nandyal diocese in Andhra Pradesh.
"The credit goes to both the church and the new principal, who is academically most qualified for the role," he said.
