History

Halperin House is named for Robert M. Halperin, PhB’47, emeritus University Trustee.  After receiving his PhB from the College in 1947, Mr. Halperin went on to pursue graduate work and received his BSME from Cornell University in 1949, and his MBA from Harvard University in 1952. Since then, he has enjoyed a lengthy career in the field of technology manufacturing, serving the Raychem Corporation in various executive roles before co-founding Vitria Technology in 2004. He was elected as a Trustee of the University in 1981. Ruth L. Halperin received her AB from Stanford University in 1947. She married Mr. Halperin in 1956, and worked for White House and Emporium department stores while he served as an executive for Raychem. Later, she directed her energies toward volunteerism and philanthropy, becoming a great patron of the arts. She passed away in November of 2008. The Halperins have three children, and their eldest son, Mark Robert Halperin, graduated from Chicago with an AB in History in 1981.

Over the years, Mr. and Mrs. Halperin have remained active in the life of the University, extending philanthropic support to initiatives and programs in the College, the Division of the Humanities and the Oriental Institute. In addition to his leadership on the Board, Mr. Halperin has served as a member of the Visiting Committee to the Division of the Physical Sciences.

Culture

Many of the upperclassmen in Halperin House are coming from a former Shoreland community, Michelson House.  Our House tends to be independent-minded, intellectual and, at the same time, a little bit silly. We have a vibrant lounge culture, with students watching movies, studying, and carrying on conversations about a range of academic and non-academic topics in our large lounge by the northwest elevators. Our student-run activities range from a weekly movie night to trips throughout the city. Our traditions include a yearly apple picking trip to Indiana, regular trips to ethnic restaurants throughout Chicago, spaghetti dinners during finals weeks and a Spring Quarter "Odds versus Evens" competition that pits one side of the floor against the other in contests ranging from marshmallow eating to book-balancing.