​ College of DuPage Commemorates 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attack

COD’s World Trade Center Beam Fitting Background for Remembrance Ceremony

The largest attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 left an indelible mark on U.S. history. Join College of DuPage leaders as they commemorate the 20th anniversary of an event that forever changed the nation, remember the lives lost and honor the heroic spirit of first responders and civilians at “9/11 20 Years Later: Our Community Remembers.”

The ceremony will be presented from the College’s Robert J. Miller Homeland Security Education Center (HEC) at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, via livestream on the College of DuPage Facebook page.

Learn more about the event.

The commemoration includes reflections from COD President Dr. Brian Caputo, COD Homeland Security Training Institute (HSTI) Director Tom Brady, DuPage County Sherriff James Mendrick and Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company Assistant Chief Jim Sisson. Flowers also will be lain on the 1,000-pound beam section from the World Trade Center that is housed at the HEC.

As one of only a few educational institutions nationwide selected to receive a relic from the twin towers, Dr. Caputo said that the permanent memorial to the attacks serves as a tangible piece of history for students, faculty, staff and community members.

“The beam is a symbol of our resilience and our capacity to endure our darkest moments and overcome them,” he said. “We have an obligation as a community to remember and respect with gratitude those who died as well as the difficult but important history of 9/11.”

Providing his insights from Ground Zero, Fagel, who spent 100 days sifting through the rubble, will present “Remembering 9/11: Personal Reflections from Ground Zero” at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 10. Through insights, personal stories, artifacts and photos from his experience, Fagel also will discuss the toll his Ground Zero work has had on his mental and physical health. The presentation will be livestreamed at www.cod.edu/911.

“It’s hard to capture the right words, but I think about 9/11 every single day of my life,” he said. “The annual 9/11 memorial at COD is absolutely critical as it allows people to pause and reflect to keep the memories alive of those lives lost.”

COD is gathering stories from across the community to help capture the diverse perspective of that tragic day. Share your reflections for inclusion on the COD website.

HSTI at College of DuPage is focused on education for law enforcement, fire science, first responders and corporate security personnel in the area of homeland security. Together with the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy, HSTI sets the bar for education of today's current and future generations of emergency responders, private sector security professionals, School Administrators, Support Staff and police officers.

College of DuPage is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Serving approximately 21,000 students each term, College of DuPage is the largest public community college in the state of Illinois. The College grants seven associate degrees and offers more than 170 career and technical certificates in over 50 areas of study.