The 9/11 Attacks 25 Years Later: Lessons Learned, Lessons Forgotten

Opening remarks by President Jennifer L. Mnookin from an event hosted by the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you, Keren, for that introduction and, far more important, for your leadership here at the School of International and Public Affairs. As some of you know, my husband, Joshua Foa Dienstag, is a professor of political science, and his professional home is right here in the International Affairs Building. He is a native New Yorker. I can only recently, though quite proudly, claim that identity. But for both of us, it is very meaningful to be with all of you this evening. 

For so many in this room, and for so many Columbians, grappling with the legacy of September 11, 2001, is deeply personal. We are familiar with the horrific details, but they bear repeating: 2,753 people died in Lower Manhattan that day, less than 8 miles away. We can see from these windows where the Twin Towers once stood. Two hundred and twenty-four others died in the parallel attacks at the Pentagon and on Flight 93. 

Survivors, including first responders, were left with devastating physical and psychological aftereffects. The devastation touched nearly every corner of our country. 

For Columbia, an institution in and of New York City, the effects were shattering. Forty-two members of our immediate community died. And many more—so many more—lost friends, family, loved ones, neighbors, and colleagues. On this first week of our new school year, as I welcome so many freshmen and others here, I remember, with sadness and fondness, Ted Henessey, who lived in my freshman dorm one floor directly below my own, and whom I met my very first week of college, and who was a passenger whose life was lost on American Airlines Flight 11. You all have your own stories, and we honor and remember all of those who lost their lives, their loved ones, and their health in the wake of these attacks. 

In the minutes, hours, and days immediately following 9/11, we also witnessed extraordinary actions: Our first responders braving the horrors in front of them in an effort to save lives, and our elected officials uniting across political dividing lines to ensure this city and our people had what they needed. Secretary Clinton was invaluable in that effort. 

As is the role of a great university, in those early days and in the 25 years since that morning, Columbia has contributed meaningfully to our collective understanding and complex reckoning with what occurred. Keren has outlined for us some of the vital work done by SIPA’s own faculty. In addition to that, a few other examples from across Columbia:

• Mailman School of Public Health epidemiologists tracked the long health toll on survivors and first responders. 
• Scholars at the Law School have questioned how far a nation should or should not go in the name of security.
• Columbia’s Center for Oral History built a substantial archive of recordings from 9/11 first responders, Twin Towers workers, and other witnesses—material used for public commemoration and scholarly purposes.
• A study led by Business school faculty, focused on entrepreneurship in New York, found that within 15 months, the rate of new businesses founded in and near the city actually exceeded pre-9/11 levels—even after accounting for recovery funding—with the effect being strongest closest to Manhattan. 

That’s inspiring—this is a city that does not give up. 

Our alumni have also been an important part of this work—journalists and authors providing written records of what occurred that day and analyzing the effects on U.S. policy and the global order, architects designing the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, leaders directing and advising the 9/11 Memorial Museum, researchers leading and contributing to the FDNY World Trade Center Health Program, and so much more.

And, of course, we are rightly proud of the thousands of Columbians who have served and continue to serve in the U.S. military and in all levels of government. 

The Columbia community understands that one of the best responses to devastation is to use expertise and empathy in the service of remembrance, renewal, and the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. And that brings me to the reason we are here this evening. 

The Institute of Global Politics has put together a remarkable program featuring leaders who guided our country and our city through the last 25 years. 

As you heard from Keren, we will first hear from former high-ranking civil servants who played critical roles in reshaping this country’s approach to national and global security and then from experts who were intimately involved in New York’s efforts to rebuild and in advocating for those most directly affected. 

We’re in for a special evening. 

I am truly honored to be here with all of you, and to be here with our speakers, as we come together on this occasion, after 25 years, to remember and reflect on “lessons learned and lessons forgotten.”

Thank you all so very much.