eastern tradition represented and ‘keep the college near to the spirit and genius of our people.’ At the same time, they were keen to keep its doors and windows open ‘to profit from the best counsel that western educational experience can provide’, especially its ‘humanistic and liberal tradition.’ Needless to say, it is this spirit of owning one’s own civilization yet being open to ‘cultures of all lands’ that drew the attention of personalities like Gandhi and Tagore to the college. The only missionary society to have co-operated with this Indian initiative in higher education was the Church Missionary Society (CMS) who had various mission centres in Travancore. The CMS missionaries who associated with the college as teaching faculty included Canon W. E. S. Holland, L. W. Hooper, B. G. Crowley, Stephen Neill. Well known English journalist and satirist, Malcolm Muggeridge taught at the college for a brief period. The college also received much encouragement from Dr William Skinner and Dr E. M. Macphail, both principals of Madras Christian College, and Dr L. P. Larsen, the well known Danish theologian and missionaries. Present Status Today, the college has become a first grade college with about 2200 students, enrolled in 14 graduate and 14 postgraduate courses in diverse disciplines. The college is now affiliated to the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, with eight of its departments being Research Centres recognized by the university, providing guidance and resources to more than 120 research scholars. It is one of the two colleges that went in for the first cycle of NAAC accreditation in 1999 and received five star accreditation. It had completed the fourth cycle of accreditation in 2017 with an A grade (3.47 score). It had also been awarded an A grade during the last cycle. Administration The College is owned and administered by the Association and its Standing Council, which is constituted of representatives of the Inter Church Fellowship (ICF), an association of the permanent Christian members of the faculty who belong to the co-operating Churches and representatives of the four cooperating churches. The association elects the Board of Directors; the Standing Council runs the administration of the College through its Governing Board/Executive Committee. ICF ensures the participation of the faculty in the governance of the College and also carry forward the legacy of the founding fathers. Notable Landmarks Kacheri Malika is a three-storey building situated in the heart of the campus.