Father Joseph Inchackal, former principal of Loyola College, died on Thursday at his provincial home in Kozhikode. He was 85. He had a fall and was in a coma for over a month.
Fr. Joseph, alumnus and later director of Loyola Alumni Association, is remembered as the ‘second architect of Loyola College’. Fr. Francis Bertram, who founded the college in 1925, was known as first architect of the college.
“A native of Kerala, he completed B.Sc Physics in Loyola. He belonged to the Madurai Jesuit province and later became an administrator,” said K. S. Antonysamy, public relations officer, Loyola College.
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After getting an M.Sc. from St. Joseph’s College in Tiruchi, and a Ph.D. from the United States, he joined the college in 1974 as faculty and became the head of the Department of Physics in 1976. He started the M.Sc. and Ph.D. programme in the department, recalled an alumnus and one of the first students of M.Sc Physics. In 1978, he introduced autonomy, a first for colleges in south India.
Alumni recalled him as a simple, approachable administrator, who was an ardent philatelist and photographer. He started the college’s photography club. “He was a simple man who made quick decisions. It was during his tenure that donations poured for the college,” said a professor.
His students have given him the sobriquet ‘builder and beautifier’. He took over as the principal of the college in 1990. In 1992, he was made the first independent secretary of the college, a post he held till 1995.
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He was also director of the Loyola Alumni Association (1999-2000).
The funeral will be held at Christ hall, Kozhikode at 2.30 p.m. on Friday.