With higher education facing unprecedented changes due to technological disruptions and evolving career landscapes, navigating this complex terrain falls squarely on the shoulders of Dr. Fatima Vasanth, the Academic Director of Patrician College of Arts and Science. With more than four decades of experience in the fields of teaching and research in her kitty, this forward-thinking administrator has been blessed with excellent organisational skills and is associated with not only Academic Administration, but also Resource Planning, Recruitment, Research Training and Development. She has held prestigious positions in the academic arena throughout her distinguished career.

Born in Vellore and brought up in Chennai, she schooled at Fatima Convent and followed it up with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Auxilium College, Katpadi. After finding her true calling in social work, she joined Stella Maris College in Chennai to pursue MA in Social Work. Her degrees in Masters of Philosophy and PhD in Social Work were acquired from the Madras School of Social Work

Her career took wings at the Bishop Heber College in Tiruchirapalli where she became the first woman to be appointed as an Assistant Professor. She joined her alma mater Madras School of Social Work in 1984 as Assistant Professor in Social Work and worked her way up. After a decade, she became an Associate Professor in Social Work and in 2005, she took on the mantle of Principal and Secretary of the Madras School of Social Work. After serving the college for three decades, she retired in 2014.

Having gained a reputation of an accomplished administrator, she was invited to head the Patrician College of Arts and Science immediately after her retirement. She contributed her expertise to the college before being invited to take over as Deputy Principal of the prestigious Loyola College in 2016.

Dr. Fatima who shattered the glass ceiling by becoming the very first woman to take on the role of a top management professional in Loyola College says “I was extremely happy to take on this role and I feel proud that I was the first woman to be offered this prestigious post.’’

After a successful stint as Deputy Principal here, she returned back to Patrician College of Arts and Science in 2019 as the Academic Director of the college which post she holds till date.

Her passion for research made her get involved in many research projects for leading corporates as well as for government organisations. With several publications to her credit, many prestigious awards came her way but according to her, “The two awards I cherish the most are the ‘’Best Educationist Award’’ that I received in 2011 from the Government of Tamil Nadu and the ‘’Life Time Achiever Award’’ from the Indian Society of Professional Social Work and Pondicherry University in 2018.’’

She held the prestigious post of Syndicate Member in three Universities- Madras University, Pondicherry University as well as Mother Teresa Women’s University at Kodaikanal and was also a Member of several Government statutory committees both at the Central and State level.

Her take on handling students is “to never condemn but talk to them, find out their grievances and try to understand their problems through a dialogue with them. By calling for a discussion with student leaders, most of their issues can be solved.’’

Dr. Fatima plays all her roles effortlessly and enjoys them as she approaches every role with clarity. Her family is her source of relaxation and her 4 grandchildren are her stress busters. She says, “My family is the source of my strength and we spend quality time together whenever we get an opportunity to get together, be it a birthday, a wedding anniversary or even a visit to the church. I usually reserve all weekends for my family members”.

Her grandchildren keep her updated on their daily schedules and when they have a fight, it is Dr. Fatima who resolves it.

When it comes to music, old timers like Boney M and Cliff Richards are her first choice. During Christmas season, her house is filled with the sound of Christmas carols. Illayaraja is also one of her favourite musicians. Whenever time permits, she gets to listen to songs on Madha TV. A very devout Catholic, she starts everything with a prayer and maintains a regular prayer time which she follows religiously.

Earlier, her tastebuds used to be tickled with sea food especially fish but of late, she is turning towards vegetarian food and relishes mor kuzhambu, poriyal etc.

Among sport, cricket takes the first place. She says “I am a great fan of cricket and I watch all the IPL matches on TV, especially if the venue is Chennai even though they run almost into midnight”.

When asked if she likes watching movies, her reply was that she enjoys watching good family movies with her family and that actors Vijay and Vikram are her favourites. She recently watched CM Vijay’s film ‘’Jana Nayagam’’ with her family.

A nature lover, she is fond of green spaces and gardening but since she lives in an apartment, she has to make do with just a few flower pots on her balcony. However, her college has a lot of greenery, a huge garden and even a lily pond. During her free time, she takes a walk around the garden, clicks pictures and even posts them on her Whatsapp status. According to her, “having a garden nowadays has become a luxury”.

For Dr. Fatima, working with a team is very interesting and she doesn’t like taking credit for team work as each and every individual would have contributed to the success of the team.

On the youth of today, she says, “the youth are very smart and sharp and require proper guidance and they should not be misled”. She says, “Service to different communities is my priority and I try to balance my time between my paid job and voluntary service.”

Dr. Fatima plays a pivotal role in driving the institutional mission forward with her strategic vision. By bridging the gap between rigorous curriculum standards and evolving student needs, she has built a sustainable foundation for future generations of scholars.

-Juliana Sridhar is a lawyer and columnist.