St. Joseph's First grade College in India took a daring decision to launch an innovative extension programme through SHEPHERD in the year 1985-86 even before the UGC made extension programme mandatory in all the Universities and Colleges. From then on the department has taken manifold dimensions of extension activity and has withstood the test of time and still proves to be a forerunner in this arena.

It aims to raise the social awareness of students of this college and motivate them and their teachers to transfer the knowledge and skills they have to rural communities. Underpinning the first aim is the belief that exposing students to rural and urban realities will result in a personal transformation that may help them serve the masses of this country. The second aim leads to a broader goal: empowering rural communities so that they can take up developmental projects for their own welfare.

As on today the college successfully serves in 69 adopted villages and 21 urban areas around the college (with an overall population of 63,000) from five development blocks namely Manikandam, Andanallur, Thogamalai, Kulithalai and Viralimalai, located in Tiruchirapalli, Karur and Pudukottai districts. Each department adopts a cluster of villages and each class adopts one village each.

We call it Shepherdization

SHEPHERD programme is meant to arouse in the students a sense of social justice, an interest, responsibility, compassion and concern for and sensitivity to the plight of the underprivileged through exposure to the actual living conditions in the slums and villages and by meaningful community service. In short, through this complex process inbuilt in the curriculum, the students of St. Joseph?s undergo Shepherdization.

Motto

"Truth is knowledge in service"

Meaning of Extension

Extension Education is 'Helping People To Help Themselves' in changing their behavior in a desirable direction for overall development in an individual, in his/her family, in his/her community and thereby his/her nation. Stretching out and reaching out the individual and the institution's potentiality to the marginalized and to the unreached Society