International House of New York - History

History

The initial impetus for forming I-House occurred when, after a chance encounter with a lonely Chinese graduate student at Columbia University in 1909, YMCA official Harry Edmonds, began efforts to obtain funding to establish the House in order to foster relationships between students from different countries. International House was opened its doors 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. 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., Abby M. O'Neill and Peter M.O'Neill.

International House was one of the first of many international houses in a global movement to create a diverse environment for international students seeking to further their education. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. built International Houses at Berkeley, Chicago, and Paris prior to World War II. Other cities with international houses include: Philadelphia, Alberta, Auckland, Darwin, London, San Diego, Washington DC, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, and Wollongong.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees is longtime diplomat and businessman Ambassador Frank G. Wisner. 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, a 1969 alumnus of I-House and Columbia University's law and business schools.