President's Statement on UC-Sponsored 9-11 Event

August 22, 2011

To the UC Community,

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that changed our nation forever. To honor the memory of those whose lives were lost, the University of Cincinnati has joined with a broad coalition of local organizations that will sponsor a community-wide commemoration on Sunday, September 11, 2011, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. Admission is free.

I encourage all members of our university community to attend this university-sponsored event and to participate in the day of activities that will take place as a part of this observance.  The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be Cincinnati Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls. The theme of the event is “Tenth Anniversary of 9/11: Remembrance, Unity, Hope.”

I also encourage you to visit UC’s September 11th memorial on the northeastern edge of McMicken Commons. The memorial includes two Princeton American elm trees as living symbols of the Twin Towers that collapsed at the World Trade Center as well as an inscribed black granite wall, which states, “We resolve to seek knowledge that leads to greater understanding among the peoples of the world.”

As the president of City College of New York on September 11, 2001, I personally will never forget the shock of the planes hitting the Twin Towers and the horror and destruction caused by those despicable acts.  In stark contrast, however, I will always remember the heroism of those who tried to rescue those trapped inside as well as the overwhelming grief that gripped our nation. We still mourn for the people who lost their lives, not just at the Twin Towers but also in Washington where American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Penn., where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed as passengers courageously attempted to overcome the hijackers.

In addition to UC, the organizers of the 10th anniversary event at the Museum Center include BRIDGES for a Just Community, Metropolitan Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Archdiocese, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Xavier University, Council on American-Islamic Relations-Ohio, Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Human Relations Commission, Unitarian Universalist Council of Greater Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Peace Village, League of United Latin-American Citizens-Ohio, Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, and Edward B. Brueggeman Center for Dialogue. More details about the program will be available at the event’s web site (www.9-11-cincinnati.org).

I encourage you as a member of our university family and the Cincinnati community to take time on September 11, 2011, to commemorate the victims of the attack and to remember the appalling events of September 11, 2001, as something we hope and pray never happens again.

Gregory H. Williams
President