The records of the Council for International Living at the University of Michigan encompass the years 1949-1966. They are divided into four series: Topical, Houses, Photographs, and Printed Works.
The Topical series (six folders) is arranged alphabetically and includes background materials, bylaws, clippings, financial records, and minutes of board of trustee meetings. The folders, for the most part, contain only scattered records. The minutes are the most valuable for charting activities of the Council. For researching student life in the residence houses, the Houses series (8 folders) includes background information, financial records, house policies, and minutes from house meetings. It is arranged alphabetically by house name, and like the topical series, its files are quite incomplete. The Photographs series (one folder) consists of one 8X10 black and white print (undated and unidentified) of a group of international students. Finally, the Printed Works series (4 folders) includes various annual reports, constitutions, manuals, and newsletters.
The Council for International Living at the University of Michigan was established in 1949 in response to the concerns of a group of students and faculty who sought to ease the difficult living situation many international students experienced at the university. At that time, there were no international living facilities at the university where intercultural living could be shared. The Council was to provide international residence houses, operated on a non-profit basis, where students from different nations could live and study together.
The first residence house established was the J. Raleigh Nelson House for men in 1949-1950. Named for the founder of the International Center, it housed approximately thirty students. The house consisted of fifty percent international and fifty percent American students who lived in a semi-cooperative housing situation in which each member contributed to the work of the house. An interest in expanding the program to include women led to the opening of the Agatha Harrison House in 1955 and the Tappan House in 1956. Following the closing of the mens' house in 1960, the Tappan House was renamed the J. Raleigh Nelson House for Women.
The Council was incorporated under the laws of the state of Michigan in 1952. Administratively, the board of trustees of the Council consisted of nine elected members and the advisors and elected representatives of each residence house. The board was responsible for the general policies of each house, for the establishment of member houses through appointed founding committees, and for a working capital fund which was loaned to a house on a yearly basis. Each house sponsored by the Council was approved by the University of Michigan and recognized by the Office of Student Affairs.
