Reid Hall records, 1919-1997

In 1922, Elisabeth Mills Reid (Mrs. Whitelaw Reid) donated Reid Hall to found the American University Women's Paris Club. The club served as a residence and a space for cultural, social, and educational events for women traveling and studying in Paris. In 1929 Reid Hall, Inc. was founded to take over governance of the building and its programs. By the mid-20th century, Reid Hall hosted a number of courses for American university students studying abroad. In 1966 it transferred ownership of the building and governance of Reid Hall, Inc. to Columbia University.

Columbia operated Reid Hall out of its School of General Studies, creating a study abroad program that offered semester and year-long opportunities to Columbia and Barnard students as well as students from other colleges. In 1972 Barnard Professor Danielle Haase-Dubosc was appointed the Director of Studies on site in Paris, but the rest of the administration of Reid Hall continued out of Columbia's New York City Campus. From 1979 to 2006, Frank Wolf, Associate Dean of the School of General Studies oversaw academic aspects of Reid Hall's administration, including the Academic Advisory Council, which made decisions about courses, enrollment, and faculty.

Beginning in 1975, events on French history and culture were sponsored regularly at Reid Hall through the Sterling Currier Fund, an endowment given by Edith Sterling Currier, a member of Reid Hall since before its acquisition by Columbia. French History Professor Robert Paxton became the Chairman of the Fund's board.

In the 1980s, Reid Hall grew to be more financially stable and more integrated into Columbia University's academic programs. Two new programs opened, including the Art History Institute and the Graduate Student Research Institute. In 1995, when the School of General Studies reorganized, Reid Hall became part of the new Division of Special Programs. It remained there until the creation of Columbia's Global Centers in 2009.