In 1917 the University of Tennessee joined the new American University Union in Europe, which had its headquarters in Paris and planned to establish branch headquarters in London and other European cities where college men were engaged in war work. The organization grew out of the decision of the Yale Corporation to establish a Yale Bureau in Paris. Representatives of interested colleges and universities met at the University Club in New York City on July 6, 1917, and established the organization. The organization provided a clubhouse and services to college men and alumni. Institutional memberships cost $500 per year for institutions with ten thousand or more graduates, $250 a year for institutions with five thousand to ten thousand graduates, and $100 per year for institutions with under five thousand graduates.