the university of michigan since 1847: introduction 'a

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'A Cosmopolitan Tradition': International Students atthe University of Michigan since 1847: Introduction

This exhibit explores the University of Michigan's rich history ofinternationalism, including early foreign students, outreach toward theinternational community, and clubs and organizations formed bystudents from abroad.

This online exhibit was created, Fall 2008, by Shannon Wait, agraduate student at the University of Michigan School of Information.

EXHIBIT CONTENTSIntroductionEarly Foreign Students

Jose Celso BarbosaTomo InouyeJohn Wu

Barbour ScholarsStudent OrganizationsUniversity of Michigan

OutreachResources of Interest

Home > Exhibits > Cosmopolitan Club

1150 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113 U.S.A. | 734.764.3482 | Fax: 734.936.1333 Reference: [email protected] | Webmaster: [email protected]

Copyright 2008 The Regents of the University of MichiganLast modified: December 14, 2007 6:41:27 PM EST.

Banner image from Jasper Cropsey's The University of Michigan Campus, 1855

A Cosmopolitan Tradition Accessed 2/19/2015

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Charts showing international student population at UM by Wilfred Shaw, 1934.C lick for larger.

James B. Angell, ca. 1879

Chinese Student party in Rackham Hall, undated.

"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": Early Foreign Students

The University of Michigan enrolled its first foreign students, one fromMexico and one from Wales, in 1847, within the first decade of itsfounding in Ann Arbor. Over the next few years, they were joined byseveral Canadians and Hawaiians. Most of the early "foreign" studentswere the children of American missionaries who had been born abroad,and therefore may not have experienced the culture shock that laterforeign students would.Students began arriving from Asia as earlyas 1872, with the matriculation of SaiskeTagai of Japan, who studied literature forthree years but did not earn a degree. Hewas joined by several more of his country -men over the next few years, including lawstudents. The 1890s saw a great rise inthe population of international students atthe University, with the arrival of the firstChinese, South American and MiddleEastern students. Although it seemssurprising that a midwestern University in amoderately-sized town would bringtogether such a cosmopolitan body ofstudents, much of the diversity can beattributed to University President James B.Angell, who served as U.S. minister toChina (1880-81) and Turkey (1897-98) anddid much to elevate the reputation of the University in the eyes of theworld.Other forces also brought foreign students to the University; forexample, Jose Celso Barbosa came to Ann Arbor from Puerto Rico in1877 after being rejected from Columbia University's medical school onracial grounds.

The earliestinternationalstudents pavedthe way for themany thousandsof foreign-bornwho would seekan education atthe University ofMichigan. As J.Raleigh Nelson,founder of theNelsonInternational

House wrote in 1935, this cosmopolitanism is "a Michigan tradition thatgoes well back to the beginning of the history of the University."This exhibition looks at the stories of a few of the earliest and mostnotable foreign students:

Jose Celso Barbosa







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Tomo InouyeJohn Wu





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Jose Barbosa in an anonymous 1880 class album.

Form filled out by Barbosa in 1910. Fromhis necrology file. Larger version

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"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": Jose Celso Barbosa

Dr. Jose Celso Barbosa was born on July27, 1857 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Hereceived his primary and secondaryeducation at Puerto Rico's prestigiousJesuit seminary, which he was the firstracially-mixed student to attend. In1875, he came to New York City andlearned English. His goal was to studylaw, but he was persuaded by his doctorto study medicine due to his own poorhealth.Barbosa enrolled at the University ofMichigan in 1877, after being rejectedfrom the College of Physicians andSurgeons (which became ColumbiaUniversity Medical School) because ofhis race.

The Chronicle, a student-written and published magazine,included an article about hisadmission in its issue of October27, 1877, stating that "We haveno hesitancy in saying that Mr.Barbosa will have the right handof fellowship extended to himfrom every side... [A]ll younggentlemen of sufficient abilityare admitted on equal footingirrespective of complexion. Itnot being the amount ofpigment matter deposited in theskin that is sought after; butthe quantity and quality of thebrains in the cranium."

Upon graduation in 1880,Barbosa returned to Puerto Ricoand practiced medicine in hishome town for several decades.In 1899, Barbosa founded thepro-statehood Puerto RicanRepublican Party and for this, hebecame known as "the father ofPuerto Rican statehood." He served as a member of Puerto Rico'sExecutive Cabinet, to which he was appointed by President McKinley,from 1900-1917 and was a Senator from 1917 until his death in 1921.To honor him, Puerto Rico declared his birthday an official holiday andnamed a post office for him in his hometown of Bayaron.










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Tomo Inouye in Ann Arbor, left, ca. 1900.

Two letters from Inouye, 1919 and 1948. C lick for larger.

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"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": Tomo Inouye

Tomo Inouye wasborn in present-dayFukoka, Japan in1870. She receivedher primary andsecondaryeducation in Japan,before coming tothe United States in1896. She firstentered theCleveland MunicipalMedical College,before enrolling theUniversity of

Michigan Medical School in 1899. While at the University, she mademany American friends and received her M.D. in 1901. The next year,she returned to Japan and opened a medical practice in Tokyo, andserved as a school physician for several girls' school there.If not the first,she was certainlyone of the firstfemale doctors inJapan, and thefirst Japanesewoman to attendor earn a degreefrom theUniversity ofMichigan.

In 1945, her homeand practice weredestroyed bybombing. In a1948 letter to herclassmates at UM,she wrote: "All mypcitures, books,instruments,specimens andeverything werecompletely burnedto the groundthrough that terrible bomb, therefore I have nothing remained [sic], nokeepsake, and made homeless, no relative to look after me, separatedfrom all my friends." To read the rest of the letter, click here.










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John Wu, from his Alumni Records file.

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"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": John Wu

John Wu (Wu Ching-hsiung) wasborn China in 1899 and studied lawat the Comparative Law School ofChina in Shanghai before comingto the University of Michigan in1918. While at the University, hewrote an article for the March1921 issue of the Michigan LawReview, entitled "Readings fromAncient Chinese Codes and OtherSources of Chinese Law and LegalIdeas." At the age of 22, hestruck up an unlikely friendshipwith Supreme Court Justice OliverWendell Holmes (then 80 yearsold), and the two correspondedfor the next 11 years. Thecorrespondence between Holmesand Wu was published in JusticeHolmes to Doctor Wu: An IntimateCorrrespondence, 1921-1932.

Wu returned to Shanghai in 1930, after spending several yearslecturing around the United States. In China he became a famousjudge and lawyer, and in 1933, was appointed to the Legislative Yuanby the son of former President Sun Yat-sen, and composed the firstdraft of the Chinese constitution. He later joined the Catholic churchand translated religious works, including the Book of Psalms, intoChinese. Recognized for his scholarship and teaching of natural law,Wu was Professor of Law at Seton Hall University School of Law from1951 to 1961.










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Barbour Scholars, 1942-43. From the Barbour Scholars records.

Barbour Scholars Gloria Cortes and Gloria Manalo, ca. 1950.

Levi Barbour

"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": Barbour Scholarships

The Barbour Scholarships forOriental Women (now known as theRackham Barbour Scholarship forAsian Women) were created at thebequest of Regent Levi L. Barbourin 1914. The scholarship programwas intended to support thestudies of exceptional femalestudents from the area that wasknown at the time as the Orient,encompassing the large regionextending from Turkey in the westto Japan and the Philippines in theeast.

The scholarships supported study inthe fields of science, medicine,mathematics and other specialtiesrelevant to the development of thewomen's native countries. By the1940s, they had expanded to includethe social sciences and thehumanities.

Barbour was inspired to create thescholarships by two Chinese womenwho studied medicine at the Universityof Michigan, Mary Stone and Ida Kahn.The women were "adopted" as

teenagers by medical missionary and UM alumna Gertrude Howe, andcame to Ann Arbor, enrolling as the University of Michigan's firstChinese students, male or female, in 1892. In 1895, Kahn wrote "AnnArbor Through Chinese Eyes" (full text), an article for the studentmagazine The Inlander. Kahn and Stone graduated in 1896 andreturned to China to practice medicine. Kahn founded a hospital in







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Mary Stone (left) and Ida Kahn.

Barbour Scholars, 1932-33. From the BarbourScholars records.

Barbour Scholars, c. 1965. From the Bar-bour Scholars records.

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Shanghai, while Stone started the Chinese Red Cross.Levi Barbour met Stoneand Kahn while travelingin Asia, and was soimpressed with the workthey were performingthat upon his return tothe United States, hebegan to plan for ascholarship to enableother Asian women tofollow in their footsteps.The first BarbourScholars arrived in1918--there were onlytwo, and they were initially housed by the Barbours. Through the1920s and 1930s, the number of available yearly scholarshipsincreased to a few dozen as the program was shown to be a success.By 1943, 212 women had been provided with a total of 500 years ofUniversity training. In the earliest years of the program, most BarbourScholars studied medicine and science, but in later years, subjectsstudied included political science, sociology and art history.

During their time at theUniversity of Michigan,the Barbour Scholars wereforced to adjust todormitory life and therather stringent rulespertaining to lifestyle andfree time provided by theUniversity. They wereforced to requestpermission from the deaneven to leave campus forthe weekend, and werenot allowed to cook theirown food or, in at leastone case, travel to New

York for vacation. All of this must have been strange to adult women,who were sometimes directors of schools or had received advanceddegrees back home.It seems that most BarbourScholars did return to theirnative countries aftercompleting their degrees; by1943, approximately 70% (150out of 212) had gone back. Afew stayed permanently in theUnited States, or remained inAnn Arbor for a few yearsafter completing their degreedue to World War II. ManyBarbour Scholars went on tobecome very successful intheir fields. Several, includingYi-fang Wu and Lucy Wang, became the presidents of Chinese girls'colleges, and scores others were involved in education, both asteachers and administrators. They also went on to practice medicine,do religious work, start businesses, and become librarians andarchitects.The Barbour Scholarship still exists and is now awarded throughRackham Graduate School.


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Women's Cosmopolitan C lub, ca. 1922. From the Constance Ohlinger papers.

Chinese Students C lub

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"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": International StudentOrganizations

The first international student organization at the University ofMichigan, the Cosmopolitan Club, was formed around 1900. Shortlythereafter, several country- and region-specific organizations sprangup. The Chinese Students Club first appeared in the Michiganensian,the student yearbook, in 1912 but probably existed for several yearsbefore. By the 1920s, a Women's Cosmopolitan Club had been formed,and several other ethinicity and language-based groups, such as theHindusthan Club, had been established.

As the number of international students grew during the mid-twentiethcentury, the University began to create programs and infrastrcture forits foreign students, who often sought out information about Americanculture and at the same time, speakers of their own languages. Aninstrumental liaison between foreign students and the Universityadministration was J. Raleigh Nelson, who was hired to teach Englishto engineering students in 1908, and was soon named Counselor toForeign Students in the College of Engineering. In 1933, his title wasbroadened by President Ruthven to Counselor of Foreign Students.Nelson and his group of students began meeting regularly in theMichigan Union.










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Unidentified women at an International Center event, undated. From theInternational Center records, Box 17.

Flyer for a relief effort to help Chinese collegesdestroyed by World War II. From the Office ofEthics and Religion records, Box 6.

"A Cosmopolitan Tradition": The University andInternational Students

In the mid-twentiethcentury, the Universityof Michigan experienceda spike in the enrollmentof foreign students. By1961, it had enrolled1,436 foreignundergraduate andgraduate students, morethan any otherUniversity in the UnitedStates. The Universitydealt with this gradualincrease by founding anInternational Center,which grew out ofProfessor J. RaleighNelson's counseling andattention to the needsof foreign students, firstin the School ofEngineering, and thenUniversity-wide.

Founded in 1938 andwith Nelson as itsExecutive Director, theCenter provided one-on-one guidance, as well as a place for students to share their cultureand experiences with one another. Such a group also allowed studentsto organize religious and charitable activities, particularly relief effortsfor disasters in their native countries. During this period, the J. RaleighNelson House for international students was also founded. The Houseprovided a cooperative and multi-cultural environment forapproximately 30 men from around the world. The Nelson House putout a newsletter, "Nelson House News," which printed letters fromresidents and former-residents of the house, and gave updates onspecial activities, house renovations, and other items of interest.

Under thedirectorship of Dr.James M. Davis(1954-1964), the







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Inhabitants of the Nelson House, c. 1950. From theBetty Hutchinson papers.

International Student dance, undated. FromBox 17 of the International Center records.

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International Centerstressed personalcontact withguidance counselorsand the importanceof the newly-foundedInternational StudentAssociation (ISA) asa voice forinternationalstudents. The ISA,like the CosmopolitanClub before it, hostedmany social eventsfor international

students, at which the student body at large was welcome. Ofparticular interest was the International Bazaar, an evening ofcostumes, elaborate scenes meant to replicate foreign locales andfood and drink. In at least one year, a kissing booth manned by foreignstudents was set up.

Beginning in the 1960s,the University beganoffering a specialorientation for newly-admitted internationalstudents through theOffice of Orientation. Italso published guides forforeign students adjustingto life in the U.S.,including a booklet entitled"International Neighbors:Living in Ann Arbor" withadvice on shopping,dating, tipping, and whento arrive at parties.The Center's tradition ofproviding important services to foreign students, visiting scholars, andfaculty has continued to the present day. The Center offersinformation on immigration and visas, non-academic counseling, adviceon living in Ann Arbor, as well as information for American studentstraveling abroad.





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Barbour Scholars Gloria Cortes andGloria Manalo (Philippines) in the lab. From the Barbour Scholars records.

Chilean students, ca. 1945.From theEnglish Language Institute records.

International Students at the Universityof Michigan: Sources for StudyBarbour Scholarship for OrientalWomen Committee

University of Michigan. BarbourScholarship for Oriental WomenCommittee records, 1914-19831 linear ft. and 3 outsize folders

History, list of recipients,minutes of meetings,correspondence, printed matter,and photographs.Finding Aid available online.

English Language Institute.University of Michigan. EnglishLanguage Institute records,1940-2004.19 linear ft.

University departmentresponsible in part for thedevelopment of materials for theteaching of English as a second language.Correspondence, notes from staff meetings, printed materials, andadministrative records, especially records of South East AsiaRegional English Program; include files of directors Charles C. Friesand Robert Lado and administrator George E. Luther.Finding Aid available online.

Hutchinson, Betty L.Betty L. Hutchinson papers, 1953-20050.1 linear ft.

House parent at the University of Michigan's J. Raleigh NelsonInternational House in 1953-1954. Nelson House was located at 915Oakland Avenue, and named to honor the founder of theInternational Center on campus.Nelson House News (No.1, 1955), photographs, and correspondencewith former international students and visitors to the Nelson Houseduring Hutchinson's tenure as house parent.

International CenterUniversity of Michigan. InternationalCenter records, 1930-197618.75 linear ft.

Files of executive directors, J.Raleigh Nelson, Esson M. Gale,James Davis, and Robert O. Klinger;contain files relating to thecounseling and guidance of foreignstudents at the University ofMichigan; administrative records ofthe National Association of ForeignStudent Advisors; and photographs.Finding aid available online.

Vertical File on Foreign StudentsCall Number: FIMU F1 General:Foreign Students

1 folder







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File contains newspaper clippings on the subject of foreign studentsat the University of Michigan.


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