St. Stephen’s College

St. Stephen's College

Motto	Latin: Ad Dei Gloriam
Motto in English	"To the Glory of God"
Established	1881
Founder	Rev. Samuel Scott Allnutt
Principal	John Varghese
Location	University Enclave, New Delhi, India
Campus	Urban
Colours	Martyr's Red      Cambridge Blue
Nickname	Stephanian
Affiliations	University of Delhi
Website	ststephens.edu

St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located in Delhi, India. It is a Christian college under Church of North India and widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India, producing a line of distinguished alumni. It was established by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college admits both undergraduates and post-graduates, and awards degrees in liberal arts and sciences under the purview of the University of Delhi. As of 2017, the Governing Body of the College has initiated a move towards making it an autonomous institution.

The history of St. Stephen's College can be traced to St. Stephen's High School, founded in 1854 by the Reverend M. J. Jennings, Chaplain of Delhi, run by the Delhi Mission of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. With the closure of Government College, Delhi in 1879 because of financial problems, the Bishop of Lahore, the Reverend Thomas Valpy French, immediately urged the Cambridge Mission, an Anglican mission organised by the alumni of University of Cambridge, to fill the breach. The other major aim for the foundation of the college was response to British Indian Government's policy of promoting English education in India. It was the Reverend Samuel Scott Allnutt of St. John's College, Cambridge, who was mainly responsible for founding the college. Finally on 1 February 1881, in support of the work of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Cambridge Brotherhood founded the St. Stephen's College. The Reverend Samuel Scott Allnutt served as its first principal.