At BMCC, the anniversary of September 11, 2001 and the attacks on the nearby Twin Towers of the World Trade Center will always bring to mind the immeasurable loss of eight of our colleagues. We also suffered the loss of a campus building, Fiterman Hall, which was reduced to rubble on one side when 7 World Trade collapsed against it at 5:15 p.m., that tragic day.
I encourage you to consider the lessons of resiliency inherent in the razing of that shattered building and in the rise of the spectacular new Fiterman Hall that opened in 2012. I also encourage you to look ahead, to where we are going as a college rising from challenges that have spanned from 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic. I encourage you to remember our colleagues and carry the best of them with you every day.
Our mission is to provide a superlative education to every student that enters BMCC. Accomplishments of our community reflect the resolve of our students, faculty and staff to seize opportunity and thrive. BMCC is a conduit for hope, ambition and world-class scholarship. As the Fall 2022 semester opens, students are kicking off the new academic year, heading up Chambers Street from subway lines that extend to every borough of New York City. Our classes are buzzing with discussion and new ideas.
We continue to honor the transformational power of education and the BMCC spirit of innovation and progress through campus events such as the AMBIT event Sunday, September 11, where renowned international artist Cristobal Gabarron created an iconic tribute to 9/11 on a 3 x 9-meter canvas staged at one of BMCC’s outdoor terrace spaces in real time before an audience of local, regional, and international guests. Today, Monday, September 12, we reflect on our history with 9/11 and honored BMCC community members lost in the attacks, by officially revealing a placard documenting that important history.
These community events honor the past and celebrate the future. We aren’t the same college we were on 9/11, and we aren’t the same BMCC that was hit by a pandemic in Spring 2020. We’re better — a hybrid version of ourselves, stronger for what we’ve experienced, ready to tackle whatever lies ahead and confident in what we can achieve.
Sincerely,
Anthony E. Munroe
President, Borough of Manhattan Community College
