At the time of the organization's founding, Pittsburgh was experiencing a surge of vitality as it moved forward with its post-War renaissance. A systematic mechanism was needed to assist large corporations besieged by requests for professional meetings and plant tours, to ease the adaptation process for faculty, students, and families from overseas affiliated with the academic community to help Pittsburgh area citizens who were interested in developing their intercultural communication skills. An Executive Committee was formed in early 1959 to provide policy direction for the new organization. Housed on the University of Pittsburgh campus, the organization developed an independent Board of Directors and developed systems to address the various needs of its constituents. Today, the needs of the community to assist international visitors still exist and the organization continues to reach out to the community to foster understanding of world cultures.
Volunteers remain essential component to the organization.
Please share your memories of PCIV's history in our discussion group .