In 1909 Harry Edmonds, then Director of the local New York YMCA, was bounding up the steps of Columbia University. He barely paused to offer a casual greeting to a Chinese student. The student stopped Harry to say, “You are the first American who has spoken to me in the time I have been in this country.” He had been in the US for three weeks. Disturbed by this experience, Edmonds decided to get to know the foreign students in New York City, inviting them to his home for “Sunday Suppers.” He and the students were inspired by their friendly talks in which they came together as equals to learn about and help each other. Based on these suppers, they conceived of the idea of a residential learning community of international and American scholars. With the funding and support of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the first International House opened in New York in 1924.

UCSD’s International House began in Pepper Canyon in 1988. When the new Eleanor Roosevelt College was built in 2003, International House moved to its current location. UCSD I House administration resides in and manages the International House Great Hall. I House residents live in the Asante, Cuzco and Kathmandu building complexes named after cultural sites around the globe.

In our increasingly global society, the ability to understand other cultures -- and one's own culture through other's perspectives -- is crucial to meeting the challenges of creating the next generation of global leaders in an increasingly interdependent world.