Roger Williams University Marks 25 Years Since September 11 With Remembrance and Reflection

September 11, 2026By Jordan J. Phelan '19

Members of the RWU community listen to speakers reflect on sacrifice, service, and responsibility during the September 11 remembrance outside the Administration Building, surrounded by thousands of American flags honoring lives lost.

BRISTOL, R.I. - Thousands of American flags placed across Roger Williams University's Bristol campus formed a visible tribute to the 2,977 people killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks and those whose lives have been lost in the years since.

Twenty-five years after the attacks, students, faculty, staff, administrators, ROTC members, and local first responders gathered outside the Administration Building on Friday, Sept. 11, to remember those lost, honor those who responded, and reflect on how the lessons of that day continue to shape the present.

For Associate Dean of Justice Studies David Lambert, remembrance also carries a responsibility to prepare the next generation of first responders and public safety professionals.

"For those of us involved in public safety and education, remembrance also carries a responsibility," Lambert said. "Many of our students will eventually enter the public safety profession. They will face threats and challenges that we cannot fully anticipate. Our responsibility is to prepare them, not simply with knowledge and skills, but with an understanding of what it means to serve."

Lambert, who was serving with the Massachusetts State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Section on September 11, 2001, recalled how the attacks transformed public safety and demanded greater collaboration across law enforcement, fire service, emergency management, public health, and federal agencies. Today, he said, those lessons inform RWU's undergraduate and graduate Justice Studies programs and the Justice System Training & Research Institute.

The ceremony opened with the national anthem performed by Drastic Measures before speakers offered reflections spanning generations.

Undergraduate Student Body President Henry Siravo spoke from the perspective of a generation born after Sept. 11, reflecting on the victims, families, first responders, and others whose lives were forever changed.

"I think about these people not because I knew them, not because I was there, not because I was alive," the senior said. "I think about them because of everybody here who continues to honor them. Because of your efforts, your work, your continued dedication to remembering and respect, my generation will never forget."

Interim President Brian Williams focused on what a university can do with that responsibility - creating a community where people can study difficult history, understand one another, and come together across differences.

"A university has to be a place to examine these issues, to come together through disagreement, through difference," Williams said. "Let the remembrance today strengthen our own commitment to each other and to making Roger Williams a place where people can learn, question, belong, and live together safely and thrive."

Vice President for Student Life Vitaliano Figueroa closed the ceremony by leading the community in a moment of silence and encouraging those gathered to carry remembrance into their everyday actions.

"Twenty-five years later, the truest way we can honor them is through action and connection," Figueroa said. "As you go about your day today, and the days ahead, I challenge you to ask yourselves: How can I positively impact someone else's life?"

He encouraged acts of kindness, community service, and connection as ways to honor those remembered and support the people around them.