St Stephen’s College turns to alumni to fund campus overhaul

St Stephen’s College has appealed to its alumni to bankroll a sweeping overhaul of its ageing campus infrastructure, seeking donations for projects ranging from renovating hostel washrooms and roads to installing air-conditioning and digitising the college’s administration.

In a letter to alumni dated July 20, Principal Susan Elias said the college faced several pressing infrastructure needs and invited former students to fund individual projects to ensure “complete transparency, accountability, and traceability” in the use of donations.

“St. Stephen’s College has always sought to provide an environment that reflects the values and standards for which it is known,” Elias wrote. “As we work to preserve that legacy and prepare the College for the future, there are several important improvements to our campus and its facilities that now require immediate attention.”

The letter identifies five headline items that the college, one of Delhi University’s oldest and most storied institutions, needs: repair of washrooms across residence blocks; essential road repairs on campus; air-conditioning of selected spaces, including the Junior Common Room, staff room, cafe and library; modernisation of the college cafe and mess; and an end-to-end Enterprise Resource Planning system to digitise academic and administrative operations.

The fundraising appeal comes at a time one of India’s most prestigious higher educational institutions faces sustained scrutiny over its governance, admissions and faculty appointments. The college has also attracted criticism over faculty recruitment and implementation of reservation policies mandated for centrally funded institutions.

The biggest project is the renovation of 16 hostel washroom sets across residence blocks at an estimated cost of Rs 2.29 crore, or about Rs 14.3 lakh for each set comprising ground and first-floor facilities. The college has also proposed spending Rs 30 lakh on revamping internal roads, Rs 25 lakh on modernising the college cafe, Rs 20 lakh on air-conditioning the cafe, Rs 12 lakh on installing air-conditioners in the library and Rs 13 lakh on renovating girls’ washrooms near the auditorium. Other projects include improving accessibility through tactile pathways, setting up water purification systems, upgrading sports infrastructure and landscaping the campus.

The ERP platform is estimated to cost Rs 8.5-10 lakh, excluding recurring charges for maintenance and cloud hosting.

Rather than seeking general donations, the college has invited alumni to sponsor specific infrastructure projects. “Item-wise sponsorship will enable every contribution to be linked to a clearly identified project and will ensure that the utilisation of funds can be monitored and reported with clarity,” the principal said. For each sponsored project, the college has promised to provide photographs documenting the work before, during and after completion, utilisation reports, work-related documentation and completion reports. Donors who wish to be recognised will also be acknowledged at an appropriate location on campus. The college said it can currently accept contributions only from resident Indian bank accounts and not from foreign sources.

It added that donations would qualify for tax benefits under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. “I sincerely hope you will consider supporting this endeavour and helping the College meet these important needs,” Elias wrote, directing alumni to an online document listing projects for which sponsorships have already been promised or received.

The appeal also names Philosophy faculty member Silika Mohapatra as the alumni office coordinator to assist prospective donors seeking detailed project specifications and cost estimates.