Fw: urgent letter to president of uni. of chicago

JC Helary helary at eskimo.com
Sun Mar 12 18:24:53 PST 2000


----- Forwarded message from Tracey Delaney <t6040069 at city.yokohama.jp> -----

For anybody that went to University of Chicago, or others, this may be of interest and action to you .

(From a work collegue here who was an Intl student at U of Chicago.)

********************* It is with outrage and sadness that we inform you that University of Chicago has decided to tear down the 70-year old International House, home to students from over 60 countries, and give the land to Business School to construct a new high-rise. Although this was done with great secrecy and an announcement is due very shortly, it is not too late to roll this plan back.

We urge you to: (1) Write a short but firm and direct protest to the persons listed below; send a copy to the newspapers listed below. (2) Email/fax a copy of this message to ALL alumni and friends if IH you can think of.

In addition: (3) While campus and Chicago papers have picked up the story, I-house is a global treasure and, if appropriate, you may wish to inform major media in your part of the world. (4) Inform people you are not in touch with by posting to newsgroups and other forums.

Time is short, and a quick supportive e-mail which arrives today or tomorrow will have more impact than a well-crafted letter which does not arrive until next week.

This is a fluid situation. A current resident has put up some information at http://home.uchicago.edu/~prcrotty/ihouse.html . Some alumni have set up save_ihouse_chicago at hotmail.com to answer any questions. PLEASE ACT NOW. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BASIC FACTS

1. I-House was founded in 1932 by a Rockefeller gift, meant expressly for this purpose, as an autonomous part of the University. While the University has generally honored that autonomy, it has harmed I-House in one extremely significant way: since most I-House alumni are also University alumni, it has viewed I-House as competition and explicitly prevented I-House from serious fund-raising.

2. Over its 70-year life, the building has developed routine problems that need repair. Instead of doing those repairs or letting I-House do them, the University has decided to use them as an excuse to confiscate the property. The present President has proven no friend of campus traditions and Provost Stone has been known to describe I-House as "International Ghetto".

3. Besides banning fund-raising, the University has forbidden I-House from using its own endowment, now at $10 million, for the repairs. When asked by media, University spokesmen have said I-House requires $24 million to survive. This is false. The figure of ~$20 million was for a *dream* renovation. Needed repairs are under $3 million. I-House can afford that, and raise the rest, if its hands were not tied.

4. How surprising that given the perceived need, no fund-raising drive was ever launched to raise any money! Instead it has been decided to close the House by June 30, the day President Sonnenschein leaves, and raze the building during Summer when everyone is away. The deliberations were secret, and staff have been told not to say anything to residents or alumni.

5. This is a shortsighted plan. It will be a great loss to the University. The endowment money will slowly lapse with the University. Once razed, nothing like I-House will ever be built again here. There are many high- rises in Chicago, only one International House. PLEASE ACT NOW. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAMPLE LETTER

[Feel free to use or adapt the following letter. If you are willing to

threaten to limit any donations to the University on behalf of I-House,

or to remind future donors of how major gifts are handled here, we would

be delighted. Introduce yourself and add personal experience as you see

fit. Let us repeat, though, that time is short, and a quick e-mail today

or tomorrow will have more impact than a well-crafted letter next week.]

To President Sonnenschein, President-elect Randel, Provost Stone,

CFO Woodworth, Dean Hamada (email addresses below)

I was dismayed to learn of the proposals to close International House of Chicago, raze the building, and replace it by a high-rise. This would be an act of sacrilege not different from tearing down the Rockefeller and Bond chapels. Few alumni will forgive this; few potential donors will appreciate such callousness towards a major gift.

I-House was a vital part of my experience as a student at the University of Chicago. It made me feel welcome as soon as I arrived, at a time when I did not know my way around Chicago at all. It nurtured me as time went on. The friendships I made at I-House have lasted ever since, even with people of completely different backgrounds who studied completely different subjects. My academic experience at the University of Chicago was excellent, but I-House made it unique.

Very few universities have an International House on their campus, and I don't believe that the University of Chicago understands how lucky it is to have one. I-House is the intersection point for students from different backgrounds, studying different disciplines, contributing different points of view. It is a national, global treasure. There are many high-rises in Chicago, but only one International House.

I understand that there are proposals to try to re-establish I-House at some unspecified future date at another unspecified location. However, without a building of equivalent size and location, the mission of I-House will be severely compromised. Mere programs for international students, or a small residential population, simply would not accomplish the goals of understanding and brotherhood which the present I-House achieves so effectively.

If you see any management or operational problems at I-House, please deal with those. However, killing I-House is not the answer. I urge you to do whatever it takes to allow I-house to exist in its present form and location. Please allow it to use its own endowment to undertake any urgently needed repairs; please allow it to approach its own alumni to raise any later funds.

I request President Sonnenschein to kindly forward a copy of this letter to the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees.

Sincerely,

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

EMAIL THE FOLLOWING:

Don M. Randel, Incoming President of the University dmr4 at cornell.edu (607) 255-2364

Hugo F. Sonnenschein, Outgoing President of the University h-sonnenschein at uchicago.edu (773) 702-8001

Geoffrey R. Stone, Provost of the University g-stone at uchicago.edu (773) 702-8810

Patricia Woodworth, Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer p-woodworth at uchicago.edu (773) 702-8188

Robert Hamada, Dean of the Graduate School of Business robert.hamada at gsb.uchicago.edu (773) 702-1680 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CAMPUS AND CHICAGO PAPERS:

The Chicago Maroon maroon at chicagomaroon.com (773) 702-1403 Fax: (773) 702-3032

The Chicago Weekly News cwn at uchicago.edu (773) 834-0622 Fax: (773) 834-3311

The University of Chicago Free Press (773) 834-0458 Fax: (773) 702-7718

The Chicago Tribune (312) 245-9247

The Chicago Sun-Times (773) 921-2500

----- End forwarded message -----



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