International House of New York
Encyclopedia
International House New York, also known as I-House, is an unaffiliated and non-profit residence hall (and program center) for graduate students, scholars engaging in research, trainees and interns. Students attend various universities and schools throughout the City of New York, including Columbia University
, Juilliard School
, Actors' Studio Drama School
, New York University
, the Manhattan School of Music
, the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
, the Teachers College, Columbia University
, and the City University of New York
, among others.
Housing 700 students from over 100 countries (with about one-third of those coming from the United States), International House is currently located at 500 Riverside Drive
, next to Grant's 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"; the piazza (The Abby O'Neil Patio) of its entrance opens into Sakura Park
.
The 500 Riverside Drive building, designed by architect
s Louis E. Jallade and Marc Eidlitz
and Sons, was built in 1924 and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
as International House in 1999.
official Harry Edmonds, began efforts to obtain funding to form the house in order to foster relationships between students from different countries. International House 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. 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.
International House was one of 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. The first International House is International House Philadelphia. Other cities with international houses include: Berkeley, Chicago, 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
.
There are currently 65,000 living I-House alumni worldwide. Among the more notable:
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, Actors' Studio Drama School
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, the Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
, the Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
, and the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
, among others.
Housing 700 students from over 100 countries (with about one-third of those coming from the United States), International House is currently located at 500 Riverside Drive
Riverside Drive (Manhattan)
Riverside Drive is a scenic north-south thoroughfare in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The boulevard runs on the west side of Manhattan, generally parallel to the Hudson River from 72nd Street to near the George Washington Bridge at 181st Street...
, next to Grant's Tomb
Grant's Tomb
General Grant National Memorial , better known as Grant's Tomb, is a mausoleum containing the bodies of Ulysses S. Grant , American Civil War General and 18th President of the United States, and his wife, Julia Dent Grant...
in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The original entrance to International House is inscribed with the motto written by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
: "That Brotherhood May Prevail"; the piazza (The Abby O'Neil Patio) of its entrance opens into Sakura Park
Sakura Park
Sakura Park is a public park, located at the northern-tip of Morningside Heights, New York City. Sandwiched between Riverside Church on the south, the Manhattan School of Music on the east, Grants Tomb on the west, and International House on its northern side, it is a small, but historic, piece of...
.
The 500 Riverside Drive building, designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s Louis E. Jallade and Marc Eidlitz
Marc Eidlitz
Marc Eidlitz was a builder active in New York City, where he was prominent in the construction industry, in partnership with his son....
and Sons, was built in 1924 and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as International House in 1999.
History
The initial impetus for forming I House was when, after a chance encounter with a lonely Chinese graduate student at Columbia University in 1909, YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
official Harry Edmonds, began efforts to obtain funding to form the house in order to foster relationships between students from different countries. International House was finally created in 1924 with funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
(who later funded identical houses at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and the University of California at Berkeley), as well as the Cleveland H. Dodge family. Other Rockefeller family
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
members to have served on the board of trustees include Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, , was a prominent socialite and philanthropist and the second-generation matriarch of the renowned Rockefeller family...
. John D. Rockefeller 3rd
John D. Rockefeller 3rd
John Davison Rockefeller 3rd was a major philanthropist and third-generation member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the eldest son of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the grandson of John D. Rockefeller...
, David
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
and Peggy Rockefeller, David Rockefeller, Jr.
David Rockefeller, Jr.
David Rockefeller Jr. is an American philanthropist and an active participant in nonprofit and environmental areas. The eldest son of Margaret "Peggy" McGrath and David Rockefeller, he is a leading fourth-generation member of the prominent Rockefeller family, serving on many boards of the...
, and Abby O'Neill.
International House was one of 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. The first International House is International House Philadelphia. Other cities with international houses include: Berkeley, Chicago, London, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
(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
Teachers College, Columbia University
Teachers College, Columbia University is a graduate school of education located in New York City, New York...
.
I House's current president is Donald L. Cuneo, an alumnus of I House and Columbia University's law
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
and business schools
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
.
Honorary Trustees
- David RockefellerDavid RockefellerDavid Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
- Henry A. Kissinger
- Abby M. O'Neill
- Daisy M. Soros '51
- John C. WhiteheadJohn C. WhiteheadJohn Cunningham Whitehead is an American banker and civil servant, currently a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.-Biography:He was born in Evanston, Illinois...
Past Chairmen of the Board
- George W. WickershamGeorge W. WickershamGeorge Woodward Wickersham was an American lawyer and Presidential Cabinet Secretary.-Biography:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
- Henry L. StimsonHenry L. StimsonHenry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk...
- George C. Marshall
- John J. McCloyJohn J. McCloyJohn Jay McCloy was a lawyer and banker who served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, president of the World Bank and U.S. High Commissioner for Germany...
- Charles W. Yost
- George W. Ball
- Henry A. Kissinger
- Gerald R. Ford
- John C. WhiteheadJohn C. WhiteheadJohn Cunningham Whitehead is an American banker and civil servant, currently a board member of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and, until his resignation in May 2006, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.-Biography:He was born in Evanston, Illinois...
Notable Alumni
- Chinua AchebeChinua AchebeAlbert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...
, Nigerian writer, author of Things Fall ApartThings Fall ApartThings Fall Apartis a 1958 English language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African... - Pina BauschPina BauschPhilippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
, German chroreographer - Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, poet and songwriter - Kiran DesaiKiran DesaiKiran Desai is an Indian author who is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States. Her novel The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award...
, author - Mark EyskensMark EyskensMarc Maria Frans, Viscount Eyskens , known as Mark Eyskens , is a Belgian economist and politician in the Christian People's Party , now called Christian Democratic and Flemish, and briefly served as Prime Minister of Belgium in 1981.-Background:He was born in Leuven, the son of Gaston Eyskens, and...
, Prime Minister of Belgium - Jorge IbargüengoitiaJorge IbargüengoitiaJorge Ibargüengoitia Antillón , was a Mexican novelist and playwright who achieved great popular success with his satires, three of which have appeared in English: Las Muertas , Dos Crimenes , and Los Relámpagos de Agosto Jorge Ibargüengoitia Antillón (Guanajuato, Mexico, January 22, 1928 -...
, Mexican novelist - Burl IvesBurl IvesBurl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
, actor - Jerzy KosinskiJerzy KosinskiJerzy Kosiński , born Józef Lewinkopf, was an award-winning Polish American novelist, and two-time President of the American Chapter of P.E.N.He was known for various novels, among them The Painted Bird and Being There...
, writer, author of Being ThereBeing ThereBeing There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A... - Wassily LeontiefWassily LeontiefWassily Wassilyovich Leontief , was a Russian-American economist notable for his research on how changes in one economic sector may have an effect on other sectors. Leontief won the Nobel Committee's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1973, and three of his doctoral students have also...
, winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic SciencesNobel Memorial Prize in Economic SciencesThe Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the... - Flora LewisFlora LewisFlora Lewis was an American journalist.Lewis was born in Los Angeles and was a 1941 summa cum laude graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1942.She wrote for The...
, journalist - Mark MathabaneMark MathabaneMark Mathabane is an author, lecturer, and a former collegiate tennis player and college professor.- Early life in South Africa :...
, South African writer, author of Kaffir BoyKaffir BoyKaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa is Mark Mathabane's 1986 autobiography about life under the South African apartheid regime... - Ashley Montague, anthropologist
- Dale PeckDale PeckDale Peck is an American novelist, critic, and columnist. His 2009 novel, Sprout, won the Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Children's/Young Adult literature, and was a finalist for the Stonewall Book Award in the Children's and Young Adult Literature category.-Biography:Peck was raised in Kansas,...
, US writer, novelist, literary columnist and critic - I.M. Pei, architect
- Leontyne PriceLeontyne PriceMary Violet Leontyne Price is an American soprano. Born and raised in the Deep South, she rose to international acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s, and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera.One critic characterized Price's voice as "vibrant",...
, opera star - Carlo RubbiaCarlo RubbiaCarlo Rubbia Knight Grand Cross is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN.-Biography:...
, winner of the Nobel Prize in PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and... - David Sainsbury, British supermarket magnate
- Katia TiutiunnikKatia TiutiunnikKatia Tiutiunnik is an Australian violist, scholar and composer. She is of Russian, Ukrainian and Irish descent.-Education:...
, Australian composer - Shirley VerrettShirley VerrettShirley Verrett was an African-American operatic mezzo-soprano who successfully transitioned into soprano roles i.e. soprano sfogato...
, opera star - James GormanJames GormanJames Gorman VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, CEO of Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....