From the Archives: A History of International Students at Duke

Even though fall marked the 50th anniversary of Duke’s International House, the history of foreign students spans a much larger timeframe.

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In fact, it goes further back than Duke itself, when Charles Jones Soong (originally known as Han Chiao-shun before a baptism) arrived at Trinity College in 1881. Soon’s journey to Trinity, which became Duke University in 1924, began in Hainan Province, China and included three years in the U.S. in Boston and along the East Coast before arriving in Durham to study the English language and Bible.

According to documents from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Soon “attracted a great deal of attention from the faculty, the students, and the people of the village because of his racial contrast to the Caucasian and because of his exceptional sprightliness.”

The presence of international students on campus became more synonymous with today’s experience in July 1951, when the U.S. Department of State and Army brought the Institute for International Education Summer Orientation Program to campus. Through 1957, Duke hosted about 40 international students for six weeks each summer, offering accommodations in campus dorms and meals in dining halls. Students practiced English, learned how to make long-distance calls and studied race relations.

One Iranian student from the 1955 class noted, “This short period of my life has been as enjoyable and sweet as my golden days of childhood.”

This photo appeared in Duke’s September 1953 Alumni Register showing students attending the Foreign Student Orientation Course. Left to right are Eini Laakkoven Hameenlinni, Finland; Helmut Waldenberger, Hamm, Germany Khorshed Pavri, Bombay, India; Dietrich Bensel, Bremerhaven, Germany; Jorge Rivera, Bogota, Colombia; and Leda Musa, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo courtesy of Duke Archives.

In 1960, Duke’s fourth president, J. Deryl Hart, created the Foreign Student Advisory Committee in an attempt to provide administrative aid to students. The committee disbanded three years later in order to form a new Office of International Students. This office moved to its own location on the corner of Campus Drive and Anderson Street in 1964, which marked the founding of the International House.

Since it’s beginnings 50 years ago, the International House has been a major sponsor of programs and groups such from opportunities for all Duke community members to teach and learn English, Spanish and Chinese to the International Friends Program as well as providing administrative services to Duke's international community.

In just the last 10 years, Duke has gone from 1,522 international students to 2,754 in the current academic year.

Li-Chen Chin, director of intercultural programs at Duke, said she’s particularly proud of the International House’s orientation program, which has expanded to include an online orientation for students prior to arriving on campus, a week-long in-person orientation before the academic year starts and a nine-week extended orientation to better acquaint students to life in the U.S. that runs through the first two months of the school year.

"We work hard to collaborate with different university units, too, like Counseling and Psychological Services, the Career Center and Thompson Writing Program Writing Studio,” Chin said. “With the increase of global visibility of Duke, our international students have grown tremendously and the I-House plays a much more visible role in our efforts to globalize Duke.”