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INNternationale facility presented to University
2:36 p.m., Jan. 19, 2007--Independent Holdings has announced the gift of the $3.3 million INNternationale, a residential and conference facility for international students and visiting scholars, to the University of Delaware. The facility will be housed in the former Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house on Courtney Street. The INNternationale, which is scheduled to open in September, will feature residential rooms for up to 62 guests, a conference center and a café, according to Randy Becker of Independent Holdings. Modeled after international houses in major cities from New York to Paris, Becker said the INNternationale is designed to “transcend the boundaries of classrooms and dormitories” and to provide a “welcoming center and home base, for a combination of international students, visiting professors, international guests and American students, while promoting their interaction both within the residence as well as with the greater University of Delaware community.” Becker said programs offered at the conference center and cafe will “open a unique window for international students and professors onto the new world that they are encountering not only in Newark, but also in the United States of America and beyond.” Rooms and common areas will be located on the upper floors with the conference center and café on the lower level. The café will feature a “cyber environment” and can be used as a classroom, as a game room and for meals. There will be weekly in-house events for residents and monthly events for the UD community, some of which may be sponsored by colleges or departments. Becker said it is hoped the INNternationale will host an exhibition featuring artists from Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Israel and the United States upon its opening, as well as other cultural events in the future. The INNternationale has a board of advisers that includes UD's Fred DeMicco, ARAMARK Chair and chairperson of the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management; Lesa Griffiths, director of the Center for International Studies; Scott Stevens, director of the English Language Institute; and Richard Zipser, chairperson of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. To support the programs and scholarships for guests at the facility, Becker said Independent Holdings is establishing the International Scholarship Foundation. “This project will be a wonderful addition to the ever-growing global community of Newark and the University of Delaware,” he said. Article by Neil Thomas |
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