International House of New York

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Entrance to the International House of New York.

Auditorium inside of "I House".

The International House of New York, also known as I House, is a graduate and professional residence hall and program center servicing various universities throughout the City of New York, including Columbia University, Juilliard School, New York University, the Manhattan School of Music, the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, the Teachers College, and the City University of New York, among others.

Housing 700 students from over 100 countries, it is presently located at 500 Riverside Drive, next to Grants Tomb in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. The original entrance to International House is inscribed with the motto written by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.: "That Brotherhood May Prevail."

[edit] History

The initial impetus for the I House was the YMCA official Harry Edmonds, who spearheaded efforts to obtain initial funding for the house after a chance encounter with a lonely Chinese graduate student at Columbia University in 1909. It was finally created in 1924 with funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (who later funded identical houses at the University of Chicago and the University of California at Berkeley), as well as the Cleveland H. Dodge family, to foster relationships between students from different countries. Other Rockefeller family members to have served on the board of trustees include Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, David and Peggy Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, Jr., and Abby O'Neill.

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, Melbourne, Brisbane (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.