When Remi Nagata came to the University from Japan three years ago, weekly coffee hours at the International Resource Center helped her make new friends.
Anders Hansen, a student from Norway, joined the International Student Association through IRC. He said it has helped him feel more involved at the University.
Naoya Yamada, a Japanese student, said IRC has simply been a refuge from the residence halls.
All three said IRC has enhanced their experiences at the University.
The University hopes to expand the appeal and utility of IRC by remodeling the current facility, which is located in the EMU on the mezzanine level.
In a Sept. 30 e-mail to University development directors and administrators, Associate Vice President for International Programs Tom Mills said more than $800,000 has been donated to the remodeling project and approximately $400,000 more is needed.
Mills expects the additional money to be raised through donations and said he hopes construction will begin in 2006.
The project will update the carpeting, furnishings and heating and cooling systems in the room, which has not been remodeled for more than 50 years. Space will also be added for international student offices, and a new catering station will better accommodate events. Sound and technology enhancements will allow for improved multimedia presentations.
After the remodel, IRC will be called the International Center.
“We will be able to provide better services for the groups that want to use it,” Mills said.
Mills added that he anticipates the remodeling will be a “recruiting aid for the University.”
Mills said IRC currently serves three general purposes: It offers a meeting place for foreign students, it provides information to non-international students about foreign travel and study-abroad programs, and it allows students to attend international events and find international news.
Every Friday afternoon IRC hosts an open reception with coffee and tea for international students.
Nagata said she met “a majority” of her University friends at the Friday coffee hour.
“Every coffee hour I have been here, and during the day it is just a nice place to study,” she said.
IRC serves as a headquarters for international student groups and also helps facilitate study abroad, Mills said.
“The number of our American students who study abroad is just shooting up,” Mills said.
By hosting international events and providing access to international news, officials said the IRC hopes to further integrate the University with the international community.
“We call it a ‘meeting place for the world,’” Mills said.
Sonja Rasmussen, IRC programs coordinator, said the facility serves an essential purpose in the lives of international students and in the health of the University.
“It is vital to the larger mission of the University: education and global citizenship,” she said.

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