On Sept. 11, 2001, the United States was forever changed. 2,977 people were killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Of the nearly 3,000 people who died, 21 of them were Cornellians.
19 Cornellians were at the World Trade Center when the towers were struck. Two Cornellians were killed while aboard Flight 93. The 21 alumni came from six undergraduate colleges and one graduate school. Some graduated decades before the attacks; others graduated only years prior.
The names of the 21 Cornellian victims were memorialized in the Anabel Taylor Hall rotunda in October 2016, making the memorial’s 10th anniversary just over a month away. The 9/11 memorial sits alongside memorials dedicated to Cornellians lost during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War and other conflicts.
Alongside the unveiling of the Anabel Taylor Hall memorial, a September 11 Memorial Scholarship was established for undergraduate students.
Throughout the years since 9/11, events such as the annual stair climb in Schoellkopf Field and the planting of American flags on the Arts Quad memorialize all those who died during the attacks.
25 years after the attacks, nearly 10 years after the memorial was erected, the Cornell community still feels the effect of Sept. 11, 2001. These names are not merely enshrined in the walls of Anabel Taylor Hall, but in the hearts of all those connected to Cornell University.
Kristin White Gould ’57 – College of Arts and Sciences
Donald G. Havlish Jr. ’70 – College of Engineering
Arlene J. Fried ’74 – College of Human Ecology
Juan M. Lafuente, Ph.D. ’77 – College of Engineering
Eamon J. McEneaney ’77 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Michael A. Tanner ’79 – College of Human Ecology
Virginia A. Ormiston, M.Eng. ’82 – College of Engineering
Edward P. Felt, M.S. ’83 – College of Engineering
Joni V. Cesta ’85 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Sean P. Lynch ’87 – School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Elvin Romero ’88 – College of Human Ecology
M. Blake Wallens ’92 – College of Arts and Sciences
Fredric N. Gabler ’93 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Stuart Soo-Jin Lee ’93 – College of Engineering
Joshua T. Aron ’94 – College of Human Ecology
Kaleen E. Pezzuti ’95 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Albert Balewa Blackman Jr. ’96 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Jennifer L. Tzemis ’96 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Janice M. Ashley ’98 – College of Arts and Sciences
Swede J. Chevalier ’98 – College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Christopher Ciafardini, MBA ’99 – Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Matthew Leonard is a member of the Class of 2028 in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is a sports editor of the 144th Editorial Board and was previously the assistant sports editor for the 143rd Editorial Board. He can be reached at mleonard@cornellsun.com.
