09/11/2026
Every September, we pause as a community to remember September 11, 2001 — a day that changed our nation and our world in ways that are still being felt nearly a quarter-century later.
On this anniversary, I ask our entire Chestnut Hill College community — students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends — to take a moment to reflect on the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day, and on the thousands more who have died in the years since from illnesses connected to their service and sacrifice at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and in the skies over Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
We remember the first responders who ran toward danger when every instinct told them to run away. We remember the passengers of Flight 93, whose courage in our own state of Pennsylvania reminded the world what ordinary people are capable of in extraordinary circumstances. We remember the families who have carried the weight of that day for over twenty years, and the survivors who continue to live with what they witnessed and endured.
For those of us old enough to remember where we were that morning, September 11 remains etched in memory with a clarity few other days can claim. For many of our current students, born after 2001, this day is not a memory, but a piece of history — one they have inherited rather than lived. Both experiences matter. Both deserve our attention.
As a Catholic institution rooted in the Sisters of Saint Joseph's charism of unity and reconciliation, Chestnut Hill College holds a particular responsibility on this day: to teach not only the facts of what happened, but the values that must guide our response — compassion over fear, unity over division, and the recognition of a shared humanity that transcends any single tragedy.
I encourage members of our community to take time today for quiet reflection, prayer, or conversation with one another. Let us honor the memory of those we lost by recommitting ourselves to the ideals of service, compassion, and community that define who we are as Griffins.
May we never forget.
Dr. Brian McCloskey
President, Chestnut Hill College
