Rutgers Remembers Those We Lost on 9/11

September 10, 2021

Members of the Rutgers Community,

Twenty years have passed since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked four airplanes with the intent of striking our nation’s capital and our largest city and killing as many people as possible. In all, nearly 3,000 victims were killed in New York City’s World Trade Center, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

For those of us old enough, the day remains vivid in our minds. And for so many people in the Rutgers community, the loss was personal: loved ones, neighbors, former schoolmates and colleagues who were killed that day. Within our own university community, we lost 37 Rutgers alumni in the attacks. Their names and school affiliations are listed below. We continue to honor the memory of these good people among all the victims of 9/11, and we send our thoughts to their cherished families and friends on this solemn milestone anniversary.

Today and this weekend, events will be held across the country to mark the anniversary, remember the victims, and honor the heroes who rushed in to save lives and recover the dead. One of those first responders, paramedic Ryan McCormick from UMDNJ, would later lose a battle with Hodgkin’s cancer that was attributed to his time at Ground Zero—like so many who have died from cancers and other diseases they developed in the rescue and recovery effort.

One of the remembrance events will be led by our own Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, which provided critical sampling at Ground Zero to identify toxins in the dust and smoke, and which continues to operate a center to provide medical treatment, mental health services, and other support for WTC responders. It will be my privilege to offer remarks at that commemoration and help pay tribute to the responders who will be there.

I encourage the members of our beloved community to take a moment this weekend to reflect on the victims and heroes of September 11. And let’s honor those alumni we lost by continuing to work together every day toward the excellence in our teaching, research, service, and clinical care that would make them proud.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Holloway President and University Professor

Rutgers Alumni Lost in the 9/11 Attacks

Paul A. Acquaviva RC’94
Evan J. Baron NCAS’81
David O. Campbell RC’72, GSM’74
Alexander H. Chiang GSNB’82
John R. Cruz RC’93
Brian T. Cummins GSN’91
Gavin F. Cushny UCN’85
Michael A. Davidson LC’97
Jayceryll M. de Chavez LC’99
Michael A. Diaz-Piedra III NCAS’74
Patrick J. Driscoll GSNB’75
Judy Santillan Fernandez UCNB’97
Stephen J. Fiorelli ENG’80
Colleen L. Fraser LC’74
Jeffrey B. Gardner CC’87
Alayne Friedenreich Gentul RC’78
Barry H. Glick NCAS’63
Richard J. Guadagno CC’84
Charles H. Karczewski RC’89
Brendan Mark Lang LC’89
Ming-Hao Liu GSNB’89
James A. Martello LC’83
Brian E. Martineau NCAS’88
Michael J. McCabe UCNB’83
Virginia A. Ormiston ENG’81
Dominique L. Pandolfo RC’96
Jon A. Perconti LC’93
Donald A. Peterson GSM’67
Patrick J. Quigley RC’82
Tom B. Reinig GSM’78
Richard D. Rosenthal GSM’75
Maria Theresa Santillan NCAS’96
Scott M. Schertzer LC’97, SMLR’97
Neil G. Shastri RC’98, RBS’98
Michael C. Sorresse NCAS’89
Kristine Marie Swearson UCNB’96
Gregory K. Wachtler RC’98