International House Raises $10 Million for Anniversary

The International House has successfully raised more than $10 million in its 75th anniversary campaign, leading to the development of several new scholarships aimed to support first-year doctoral candidates residing in the multicultural house.

The $10.5 million in donations from approximately 3,000 contributors will also be used for renovations and technology improvements in the house.

“We decided that we needed to raise money ... for capital improvements to improve our building and to make it up-to-date,” said Joe Lurie, executive director of the house. “We also wanted to grow our financial aid program.”

The idea of the Gateway Fellowship, a partnership between the house and the UC Berkeley graduate division, which will give funds to cover academic fees for scholarship recipients, was first discussed during the house’s financial aid committee meetings.

“In honor of our 75th anniversary campaign, the dean of the Graduate Division, Mary Ann Mason, who is in our board of directors, made an agreement with ... Joe Lurie because Cal was having a difficult time competing with the Ivy Leagues to have a total package deal,” said Shanti Corrigan, director of development and alumni relations at the house.

Contributors who are donating specifically to the scholarship program must pledge $250,000, which will be used to establish endowments. Yearly interest generated from the endowments will be used to fund one student’s annual room and board expenses.

Donors are then given the opportunity to cater the scholarships to students of particular backgrounds.

“I feel it is important for somebody like me from Hong Kong to be exposed to the rest of the world,” said Kwei U, founder of the Adrian Hao Yin U Gateway Fellowship, which gives priority to graduates of universities in Hong Kong, Taiwan or China who come to study at UC Berkeley.

The house will provide room and board annually for the qualified recipients, while the Graduate Division will match it by covering academic fees and providing a $5,000 stipend.

“For my program, we don’t have enough funding for international students so this is a really great opportunity that they can offer for a person like me from China,” said Ray Liu, this year’s recipient of the Adrian Hao Yin U Gateway Fellowship.

Of the eleven currently established Gateway Scholarships, seven will be permanent and four will last for about seven or eight more years, Lurie said.

The house is now in the process of raising an additional $250,000 to establish a scholarship honoring Lurie, who will be retiring in July.

Lurie’s scholarship will specifically help students returning from the Peace Corps, who he said presently receive no financial compensation.

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