Brief History

Professional Programing for international visitors began in the Bay Area in 1952 under leadership of the International Hospitality Center. The focus then was on arranging home hospitality and sightseeing for foreign visitors and presenting a variety of functions for members of the Consular Corps and their families. When the U.S. Information Agency closed its San Francisco Reception Center in 1983, IHC assumed full responsibility for administering the USIA's International Visitors Program in the Bay Area. Consequently, the name was changed to the International Visitors Center. In 1994, the name was changed to IVP. In October 2005, the International Diplomacy Council became the International Visitor Leadership Program at the Institute of International Education (IIE).

Timeline

1940	Nelson Rockefeller was named coordinator of Commercial and Cultural Affairs for the American Republics. He initiated an exchange of persons program with Latin America, inviting 130 Latin American journalists to the United States.
1942	In February, a network of 14 short-wave transmitters began broadcasting the "Voice of America," a new radio program geared toward promoting better understanding of the United States and other countries. In June, the Office of War Information (OWI) was established to consolidate scattered agencies of domestic and foreign information.
1948	The Smith-Mundt Act established a statutory information agency for the first time in a period of peace. Its mission, "to increase mutual understanding between Americans and foreigners," gave full recognition to the importance of educational and cultural exchanges sponsored by the government. Seeing a need to build up a corps of well-informed intellectuals and opinion leaders in the political and social infrastructure, the International Visitor Program (IVP) was established.
1952	The United States Information Agency (USIA) was formed by President Eisenhower to consolidate information administered by the State Department and other agencies. The International Diplomacy Council was founded under the name International Hospitality Center to give a more friendship-based face to the IVP. The slogan of the IHC was "They are our neighbors...make them our friends." San Francisco became the model for other cities across the nation and close relationships with the diplomatic corps were established.
1961	Passage of the Fulbright-Hays Act reaffirmed the objective of increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other nations.
1978	Reorganization resulted in designating USIA and the United States International Communication Agency (USICA) with responsibility for the public diplomacy of the U.S. It combined the information mission with educational and cultural exchanges.
1983	At the request of the State Department, the International Hospitality Center assumed full responsibility for all SF Bay Area professional programming of the International Visitor Program. IHC was renamed the International Visitors Center.
1995	In March, the International Visitors Center once again underwent a name change. The International Diplomacy Council became and remained one of the largest Council for International Visitors (CIV) in the country, arranging over 14,000 professional appointments for 1000 visitors annually.
2005	In October, IDC became the International Visitor Leadership Program at Institute of the International Education.