Mr. R.P. Kulandai Swamy Pillai B.A, L.T, L.C.P who had distinguished himself as Headmaster of St. Joseph’s School, Trivandrum and earned the title‘Dr. Arnold of Trivandrum’ joined the Department of English in 1924. A pioneer in the field of Christian journalism he started the first school magazine in India. Prof. Kulandai Swamy Pillai started the college magazine Excelsior and designed the college crest. He was also Acting Vice Principal for some time.
In July 1935 the renowned Malayalam critic and English scholar Prof.M.P. Paul was newly appointed in the Department of English as Additional Lecturer. He is considered one of the greatest teachers who have ever served St. Berchmans. In October 1936 he became Head of the Department when Prof. Subramanya Iyer left the College. It was Prof. M.P. Paul who founded the Shakespeare Theatre which is the only one of its kind in Kerala. The Theatre was inaugurated in 1937 with the staging of Macbeth under the direction of Prof. M.P. Paul.
In 1947 when Prof. Iyer left the college, at the request of the Management, Prof. M.P Paul once again joined the Department. In 1947 he produced and directed Macbeth for a second time. In June 1949 when Prof. Paul left, Mr. C.A. Sheppard became Professor and Head of the Department of English
In 1943 Mr. C.A. Sheppard joined the Department of English as Additional Lecturer. In June 1949 when Prof. Paul left, Mr. C.A. Sheppard became Professor and Head of the Department of English at the age of 28. For the next 13 years Professor Sheppard guided the Department and built up some of its noblest traditions. He was a great English scholar and grammarian, a teacher par excellence, a gifted actor and director of Shakespeare plays. The Shakespeare Theatre founded by M.P Paul was sustained by his consistent hard work. Above all he was a source of great inspiration to teachers and students. Prof. M.P. Paul and Prof. C.A. Sheppard were doyens who furthered the name and fame of the Department.
Among the teachers who joined the Department during his tenure were Prof. Joseph Panaveli, Rev. Fr. Kuriakise Aenekkatt (who later became Principal of St. Dominic’s College, Kanjirappally) Prof. K.T. Sebastian, Prof. A.E. Augustine, Prof. K.M. Mathai, Prof. Joseph Thomas, Prof. P.C. Mathew and Prof. T.P. Madhavan Pillai. With Prof. C.S. Kurian (who joined the department in1929), Prof. K.J. Francis (1946 ) and Prof. K.M. Joseph (1943 - an authority on English grammar). They formed a band of dedicated teachers inspired by Prof. Sheppard’s dynamism and singleminded devotion. Prof. Sheppard resigned his post in 1962 and left for St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri, after serving St. Berchmans’ for two decades.
Prof. A.E. Augustine retired from the English department in 1983 after serving the College for 33 years. He distinguished himself as very great teacher, an eloquent speaker and Director of Shakespeare plays. Taking the cue from Prof. C.A. Sheppard, his mentor he authored a series of Study Aids as well as useful books on English Grammar.
Prof. P.V. Ulahannan Mappillai joined the Department of Malayalam in 1930 and became Head in 1934. It was during his tenure that BA and M A Courses in Malayalam were started. Affiliation for BA was granted in 1959 and for M A in 1960. In 1939 he was promoted to the post of the Superintendent of Indian languages. He was a great scholar, a gifted teacher and an orator. After his formal term of service he was allowed to continue as U.G.C Professor for five years and he retired in 1970 after 40 years of total service. Prof. K.V. Ramachandra Pai joined the Department in 1951 and became Head in 1970. He was a well known grammarian, editor and writer. He remained in service till 1975.
Prof. D. Gopalan, the first member of the faculty of Physics was a disciple of Sir. C.V. Raman. He had a fairly long innings as he remained in service till 1949. He was a multifaceted personality. Besides being an excellent scholar and teacher he was a gifted actor and a very good sportsman (Hockey Player). In 1942 Sri S.L. Thomas was appointed Junior Lecturer. In 1943 he took study leave to return in 1945 after taking B.Sc Hons. Affiliation for B.Sc was granted in 1945. In 1949 Prof. D. Gopalan resigned and Prof. S.L. Thomas was appointed Head of the Dept. Affiliation for M.Sc with Specialization on Electronics was granted in 1961. Prof. S.L. Thomas remained as Head till 1982, the year of his retirement. He put in thirty eight years of service and was at the helm for 32 years which is an all time record. He was a great scholar, an inspiring teacher and a gifted actor. He laid the foundation of the Department and contributed immensely to its growth and development. Prof. N. Sivasankaran Nair who succeeded him as Head of the Department endeared himself to all with his gentlemanly behaviour.
Prof. C Z Scaria who joined the Department of Economics in 1949 became the Head of the Department in 1969 following the retirement of Prof. P.R. Krishna Iyer. Under his very able guidance the Department attained new heights. He was a distinguished scholar, an inspiring teacher and an eloquent speaker, all rolled into one. Logical thinking and powerful and lucid presentation was his forte. As President of the AKPCTA and PCTA he brought private college teachers under the umbrella of a powerful organisation and earned for them security of service. It was soley because of his leadership that the Private College teachers were given payment directly by the government and all of us should be beholden to him. As a token of the Department’s gratitude to Prof. C.Z. Scaria, Prof. C.Z. Scaria Shashtabdya Poorthy Memorial Lecture was instituted in 1998. After his demise in March 2000 the Lecture was renamed as Prof. C.Z. Scaria Memorial Lecture. The first Lecture was delivered by the renowned economist Dr. I.S. Gulati.