UMDNJ-Community Unity Gathering
SEPTEMBER 17, 2001


Dr. Stuart D. Cook
photo by A.J. Sundstrom

As we gather here. Today, we come together to mourn the losses of last week, to console the families of victims and to thank our students, faculty and staff colleagues who played such an important role in dealing with the tragedy of September 11.

News accounts tell us that over 5,000 people are missing and presumed dead at the World Trade Center and Pentagon due to attacks by terrorists.

We are grateful that our own University first responders . . . the EMS and trauma specialists dispatched to the site were not among the initial victims and give thanks to the heroic New York City police and firemen who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Throughout the University, we have all been touched by this tragedy. I am aware of faculty members, students and staff who have loved ones missing.

As the search for survivors continues . . . as the rescuers pursue what seems impossible . . . our hopes and support remain with all in the University family who suffer. We extend our condolences to families and friends. Families and friends whose anguish is beyond description. We gather to let them know that as individuals and as a society we are saddened by their loss.

What a family we have been.
And fortunately, what a family we have become.

Last Tuesday, we were to gather in New Brunswick to celebrate the start of the new academic year. Our annual University Day celebration would have recognized our newest cadre of outstanding faculty for teaching excellence. We would have recognized individuals and groups with UMDNJ annual Excellence Awards. We would have honored former Governor Brendan Byrne with the University Medal for his lifelong leadership and support in the creation and growth of the University. And finally, I would have shared with you my thoughts about our progress for the past year and hopes for the coming one.

Rest assured, we will honor our University's best very soon, and you can read my University Day message on the UMDNJ website. But, that message has been overtaken by the events of last week.

Today I can report to you on just a few of the amazing stories of heroism, compassion, caring and healing that give us the strength to go on and mark our souls as a community of professionals dedicated to helping others. Here are just a few:

Our University Hospital management and medical staff activated the hospital's Command Center and began preparing for the mass casualties that were expected. Literally hundreds of hospital personnel sprang into action preparing for the unknown. Spare beds were set up, the kitchen stayed open, the trauma staff mobilized. Beyond the hospital, other members of the University family also began to prepare. Support staff, public safety and property management pulled together. Residents and students of the New Jersey Medical School were asked to assemble and stand by to help.

In fact, when we held a blood drive last week, all of our Newark Campus schools participated. The New Jersey Dental School students began a drive to equip rescue workers with gloves, tee shirts and other needed supplies. Our other campuses and schools also mobilized with blood drives, counseling sessions and more. Even today, members of our faculty from the New Jersey Medical School and New Jersey Dental School are serving in New York. And faculty from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School are helping determine the environmental effects of the explosion and debris.

During those early terrible hours, one group responded as they always do in an emergency. The University Hospital's Emergency Medical Service rose to the occasion by calling on extra staff and dispatching trucks and personnel to New York City even before the call went out. Throughout the day they manned the command centers, coordinated the response of other first aids in the state, transported the wounded to University Hospital and provided supervision and support at Liberty State Park, the Meadowlands Sports Complex and the Hoboken Train Station.

They also risked their lives at Ground Zero.

They are there right now and will be until the need has ended.

As the shock of Tuesday gave way to the grim realities in the days following, another UMDNJ group mobilized to serve the citizens of New Jersey and beyond.

University Behavioral Healthcare clinicians and other professionals trained over 500 mental health workers in just two days last week. They set up a hotline and outpatient sites for counseling adults and children, and responded to nearly 1,000 calls to date. In fact, they are working today at the Newark Airport Marriott helping Port Authority families cope with the grief and loss of loved ones.

These are just a few of the stories that have touched UMDNJ, and in the days ahead, you will likely hear more.

As President of UMDNJ, I am so proud of the University family for their massive response to this tragedy. But now, we must redirect ourselves to carry on as best we can during this time of crisis, by doing what we do best. . . whether it is teaching, learning, discovering or caring for the sick. We carry on to strengthen our society and ourselves.

To commemorate this tragedy, I propose that next year and on each September 11^th thereafter, each campus of the University will conduct a blood drive to remember the victims, console our colleagues and never, ever forget how we as a community of healthcare providers came together to serve our patients and this nation in this darkest hour.

Realizing that there may be more dark hours ahead, I ask that we go forward from here remembering the words from President Kennedy's Inaugural Address, when he said, "Let us go forth to lead the land we love asking his blessing and his help."

Thank you.