Like every American, I remember exactly where I was on 9/11/2001. On today's seventh anniversary of this tragic event, our hearts go out to the victims and our memories go back to the heroes.

September 10, 2001, was a memorable day at MWU's Glendale Campus. Our Board of Trustees were on campus for their fall meeting that afternoon. That evening, we held our first Faculty and Staff Recognition Dinner, honoring the employees who were observing their five-year anniversary with MWU. The inaugural employees, who started with MWU during our founding year of 1996, were recognized for their service. It was a wonderful evening of colleagues coming together to celebrate the first five years at our Glendale Campus.

The next morning, being on the West Coast, it was very early in the morning when we learned the news of the terrorist attacks. I had scheduled a breakfast meeting with some consultants to conduct focus groups of our students for a new marketing initiative. As we gathered at 8:00 am for coffee and eggs, we checked our pagers to learn that one of the twin towers had collapsed. It was unimaginable and impossible to conceive. How could a 100+-story building fall down in Manhattan? Stunned, we drove to campus to find the entire Administrative Team and several of our Board members watching the television news in the board room. We quickly made the decision to cancel classes, and we set up televisions throughout the campus so students could watch the news from New York and Washington, and later Pennsylvania. No one wanted to leave the campus, as we all felt a sense of safety and community. None of it made sense to any of us, but we all needed to feel the comfort of colleagues and friends. With airports closed and travel questionable, many of us were far away from our families in Chicago. Our campus quickly became a family, and we tried to provide the same for our students. Like all of you, that day will be forever etched in our hearts and minds.

Every year on 9/11, I still send an email to the consulting colleagues who I shared that 9/11 breakfast with to say hello, catch up on their news, and wish them the best. The remembrances of this historic day remind us, again and again, the critical importance of first responders in times of emergencies. Our alumni and our students responded then and continue to respond in times of crisis in our nation where health care providers are needed. We all can remember the national pride and unity we felt as Americans immediately after 9/11, when we all bonded together as a country.

This year, MWU's Board is traveling to campus today for their fall board meeting at our Glendale Campus tomorrow. In the evening, we will hold our 7th Annual Faculty and Staff Recognition Dinner, where we will celebrate many 5- and 10-year anniversaries of service at MWU. As always, our thoughts and prayers will be with those victims of these tragic events. I hope we will continue to hold in our hearts the feelings of unity and pride as a country that this day evoked. I know that I will always be reminded of how much I value the MWU family and our campus community as I remember the details of that sad day.