Cornell University Unveils Memorial to Alumni Lost on 9/11
Cornell University dedicated a September 11 memorial to the 21 alumni who were killed on Sept. 11, 2001 at a ceremony on Oct. 28, according to the Cornell Chronicle.
Interim President Hunter Rawlings spoke to family members, friends and administrators at the private unveiling. Positioned near the university’s WWII memorial, the September 11 memorial will serve as a permanent remembrance to the 19 alumni killed in the attacks at the World Trade Center and the two who were killed aboard Flight 93.
“Most of us can remember exactly where we were on that beautiful September day in 2001 when news of the attacks reached us,” Rawlings said during the ceremony. “I remember that very acutely – because that day, I remember walking across the Arts Quad, having heard none of this, and having students running toward me, very distraught.”
Rawlings spoke about the alumni remembered, including Joshua Aron, Edward Felt and Eamon McEneaney. McEneaney’s widow, Bonnie McEneaney, spoke on behalf of the families of Cornell alumni who were lost on 9/11. She recognized “those who went on to help and search for victims,” and the efforts to honor the dead in the weeks, months and years that followed. “This was, and is, resilience at its strongest. … Love is the strongest force in the universe. It binds us together in tragedy.”
Allison Blais, chief operations officer of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, was instrumental in locating and contacting family members in advance of the ceremony and provided photos and biographies for the dedication. Blais graduated summa cum laude from the University and currently serves on the President’s Council of Cornell Women.
The dedication also included an announcement of the September 11 Memorial Scholarship which was established for undergraduate students. Michael Golden, a Cornell freshman of Holbrook, N.Y., is the first recipient of the scholarship. Golden’s father and uncles served among NYPD first responders at Ground Zero.
Read more about the ceremony here.
By 9/11 Memorial Staff
The Lens: Capturing Life and Events at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum is a photography series devoted to documenting moments big and small that unfold at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
In the early morning of Sept. 11, 2001, 8-year-old Zoe Falkenberg boarded American Airlines Flight 77 at Dulles International Airport and took her seat in the middle of the row between her father Charles and her 3-year-old sister Dana. Zoe’s mother, Leslie Whittington, sat across the aisle.