Experiment in International Living Records

The Experiment in International Living (EIL) program was founded by Donald B. Watt, who recognized a need to further sympathetic understanding across international lines. In 1932, he brought together a group of fourteen American boys with a group of fourteen French or German speaking boys. The University of North Dakota became involved with the program in 1953. EIL provided students with the opportunity to study abroad and experience other cultures, in turn, claimed Watt, "making the world a better place." Dr. Richard E. Frank headed the Experiment in International Living at UND from 1953 to 1975. The program gradually ended here, as a result of changing priorities. While the UND program was active, however, it sent over fifty students to foreign countries. These students include Mary Wilson Dibbern, a professional pianist living in France, Earl Pomeroy, elected North Dakota Representative to Congress in 1992, and Karen Sethre White, a "food stylist" who received a Sioux Award in 1989.

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