Committee on the Future of International House to make recommendations to President at end of May

The Committee on the Future of International House is entering phase two of a four-part process that will conclude at the end of May when the committee makes its recommendations to President Sonnenschein and the University Board of Trustees.

Last Friday, committee co-chairs Richard Franke, University Trustee, and Ted Cook, Associate Professor in History, met with the student and community press to explain the two-month process.

“Right now, we’re here to learn, rather than to tell,” said Franke. For two weeks, the 12-person committee has listened to more than 100 people, including alumni, faculty, students and the greater community.

“We’ve heard from those who are passionately attached to the current program, and then again, from those who value it very little,” said Cook. The committee also has received and read numerous e-mail messages.

Franke, who now readies himself for impromptu interviews by carrying pad and pencil in his pocket, said the committee members need to bring comments from “what has been a polarized audience” into a reasonable conversation about what to do next for the International House community.

“The committee does not have an axe to grind about International House, so we can look at all the variables involved with fresh eyes,” he said.

Phase two of the process will continue for two weeks. Committee members will review and analyze such documents as various International House refurbishment proposals. Once the committee has amassed all its information, it will begin phase three, which will involve two weeks of what Franke called “talking it through.”

After a fourth phase of discussions and drafts during the last two weeks of May, the committee will provide Sonnenschein with a final, written report of their residential and programmatic recommendations for the future of the International House community beyond June 30.