Letter to the Colby Community
from President William D. Adams

September 12, 2001

At Colby, though we are removed physically from the devastation of the terrorist acts that rocked our nation and the world on September 11th, we are saddened and shaken by the enormous tragedy that has befallen our country.

Ever since the horrific news began arriving Tuesday, we have paid particular attention to the needs of our students, many of whom were anxious to assure themselves of the safety of family members and other loved ones. Vice President for Student Affairs Janice Kassman and her staff assisted by setting up a specially staffed phone center, and psychological counselors and our three chaplains have extended hours and made known their availability to talk with students individually or in groups. A careful search of our databases was conducted to see who in the Colby community and network might have been in harms way. Early on Dean Kassman reported that no known immediate family members of students were casualties in the incidents.

Dean of Faculty Ed Yeterian contacted our study-abroad programs and Colby's Washington, D.C., program on Tuesday to confirm that students there were safe and to curtail any travel for both groups pending further notice. Registrar George Coleman has extended through September 18th the deadline for adding fall courses and declaring if courses will be taken "satisfactory/unsatisfactory."

Tuesday evening I convened an open forum in Cotter Union for students and faculty to talk and to remember those killed or injured, and students participated in heartfelt, intelligent and meaningful ways, sharing their grief and beginning to process this world-altering disaster.

Vice President for College Relations Randy Helm has coordinated outreach to Colby alumni, extending resources that include the Web-based alumni directory and bulletin boards for communication among alumni that may be helpful during this crisis.

This indeed has been a sad chapter in world history, and we still worry that we may discover in the days ahead that there are Colby ties among the many innocent victims of this horrible tragedy. If there is more to communicate from the College, I will do so through regular channels, and we will provide updates as needed here on the Web site.

William D. Adams
President