Written by Grace Gillespie<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum still remembers exactly where he was on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, a day that changed the nation and left lasting impressions on campuses across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the time, Bitterbaum was serving as president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg and vice president at the main campus in Morgantown. He was in a cabinet meeting when his secretary knocked on the door. \u201cShe said something peculiar was going on. That an airplane went into one of the twin towers,\u201d Bitterbaum recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At first, he thought it was a small plane accident. Minutes later, he learned it was a major airline. \u201cWe put on the TV, and then we saw the second plane hit,\u201d he said. \u201cWe realized something horrendous was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The campus quickly shifted into crisis mode. Faculty and staff gathered around televisions, and classes gave way to discussions. Bitterbaum reassured the community while counselors were made available. \u201cIt was a very memorable, sad time,\u201d he said. \u201cSo many people lost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tragedy hit close to home. A board member\u2019s daughter, who had recently graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was working in one of the towers and became one of the victims. In her honor, the campus later established a scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bitterbaum said the university canceled evening classes that day but reopened the next morning. \u201cWe had to continue the courses, but there was also lots of conversation,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wanted to make sure people had space to process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He remembered seeing Coast Guard boats patrolling the Ohio River near chemical plants in the days after the attacks, a reminder of the uncertainty that lingered. \u201cWe didn\u2019t know how broad it was,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were worried about more attacks, but thankfully nothing happened in West Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reflecting on his leadership, Bitterbaum said the key was communication and compassion. \u201cIf there is a campus emergency, you make counselors available,\u201d he said. \u201cYou bring speakers, you have conversations. That is what an intellectual institution should do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that SUNY Cortland continues to mark Sept. 11 with memorials, though attendance has declined over the years. \u201cIn 2003 we had close to 1,000 students there,\u201d he said. \u201cLast year we had like 50. For today\u2019s generation, it feels like ancient history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, Bitterbaum believes the lessons endure. \u201cWe came out as a strong nation,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were attacked, but we still moved forward and tried to make the world a better place. That is one of the shining lights about this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For students who did not live through 9\/11, Bitterbaum\u2019s message is clear: remember the resilience. \u201cWe continue to help people around the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re admired for, and that\u2019s what we should keep doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Written by Grace Gillespie SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum still remembers exactly where he was on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, a day that changed the nation and left lasting impressions on campuses across the country. At the time, Bitterbaum was serving as president of West Virginia University at Parkersburg and vice president […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"featured_media":10578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","entry"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-28-2026-at-01_28_42-PM-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-28-2026-at-01_28_42-PM-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Special Contribution to the Dragon Chronicle","author_link":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/author\/paul-arras\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}