International House of New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This does not cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) This article has been tagged since June 2006.

The International House of New York, also known as I.House, is a graduate and professional student dormitory servicing various universities throughout the City of New York, including Columbia University, Juilliard School, New York University, the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, the Teachers College, Columbia University, and the City University of New York, among others. It is presently located at 500 Riverside Drive, next to Grants Tomb in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.

It was created in 1924 as a gift from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and the Cleveland H. Dodge family to foster relationships between students from different countries. The original entrance to International House is inscribed with the motto created by Rockefeller: "That Brotherhood May Prevail." Late YMCA official Harry Edmonds spearheaded efforts to obtain initial funding for the house after a chance encounter with a lonely Chinese graduate student at Columbia University in 1909. I.House houses 700 students from over 100 countries.

The New York International House was the first of many international houses in a coast-to-coast movement to create a safe space for international students seeking to further their education. Other cities with international houses include: Berkeley, Chicago, Philadelphia, London, Parkville and Queensville (Australia), and Paris.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees is former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, Paul A. Volcker. The Chairman of the Board's Executive Committee is William D. Rueckert, a member of the Dodge family, whose generous gifts contributed to the development of both International House and the Columbia University Teachers College. I.House's current president is Donald L. Cuneo, an alumnus of I.House and Columbia University's law and business schools.