Harvard University

9/11
25 Years Later

Looking back at the day that shook America and exploring how the U.S. and the world have changed.

Reflections

“The courage of ordinary heroes is in each one of us.”

Twenty-five years ago, Harvard alum and battalion chief Joseph Pfeifer led the first team of firefighters to the World Trade Center.

Learn more about his story

Memories from the moment

Harvard affiliates from across the University reflect on where they were when the terror attacks took place.

Explore stories from the Harvard community

People watching a TV and one person crying

Loss and learning

Former Harvard students recall the confusion and fear of 9/11, the desire to do something, and the sense that everything would be different going forward.

Read their experiences

Grief and shock

On the night of the tragedy, the Harvard community gathered at Memorial Church for a vigil to honor the lives lost as a result of the terrorism attacks.

Solace through community

At Harvard, as at many universities and businesses across the country, normal functioning ground to a halt. Some classes were canceled and some offices closed, but others kicked into high gear.

Those we lost

Eleven members of the Harvard community died in the attacks.

David Alger
A member of the Harvard College Class of 1966 and manager of Fred Alger Management, Inc., he died at the World Trade Center.

Paul Ambrose
A physician and 2000 graduate of the School of Public Health, he was aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon.

Mark Bavis
A former Harvard hockey assistant coach, he was aboard United Airlines Flight 175, which was crashed into the south tower.

Anthony Demas
A student of the Harvard Business School and managing director of Aon Corp., he died at the World Trade Center.

Steven Lawrence Glick
A 1989 Harvard Business School graduate and a managing director with Credit Suisse First Boston, he died at the World Trade Center.

Edward R. Hennessy Jr.
A member of the Harvard College Class of 1988 and a consultant for Emergence Consulting, he was aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which was crashed into the north tower.

Waleed Joseph Iskandar
A 1993 Harvard Business School graduate and a business strategy consultant at the Monitor Group in Cambridge, he died on Flight 11.

Andrew Keith Kates
A 1991 Harvard Business School graduate and a chief administrative officer at Cantor Fitzgerald, he died at the World Trade Center.

Michael B. Packer
A member of the Harvard College Class of 1976 and a managing director at Merrill Lynch, he died at the World Trade Center.

Meta Waller
A 1982 Kennedy School of Government graduate, and a special programs manager for the administrative assistant to the secretary of the Army, he died when Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon.

Steven Weinstein
A 1973 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences graduate, he died at the World Trade Center.

Donald A. Peterson
A participant in the Owner/President Management Program and long-time president of the Continental Electric Company, he died when Flight 77 was crashed into the Pentagon.

In the aftermath

Jessica Stern and Paul Massari on a podcast

How the attacks of 9/11 changed us

Harvard alum Jessica Stern, a global expert on counterterrorism and perpetrator psychology, talks about the trauma of terrorism and how an understanding of it can help us prevent public violence.

How the attacks of 9/11 changed us

Compensating victims and their families

As Special Master of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, Kenneth R. Feinberg, a former adjunct professor at Harvard Law School, was responsible for designing an unprecedented program for distributing government funds for death and injury claims related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Compensating victims and their families

Reinventing the FBI

Harvard Business School faculty analyze how the FBI reorganized itself from a law enforcement agency to a national security organization in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

The shield of the FBI on the side of a building

Reinventing the FBI

Fighting for first responders

At an event at Harvard Kennedy School, comedian and activist Jon Stewart discussed his work helping to push through federal funding for families and first responders after 9/11.

Fighting for first responders

Events honoring the anniversary

25 Years Later: The Lessons and Legacy of September 11, 2001

September 8, 2026

Join moderator Meghan O’Sullivan in conversation with Joe Pfeifer, the first Chief of the New York Fire Department to respond to the World Trade Center on 9/11; former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen; and Nancy Gibbs, whose Time Magazine piece "If You Want to Humble an Empire" won the National Magazine Award.

25 Years Later: The Lessons and Legacy of September 11, 2001

Crisis leadership 25 years after 9/11

September 14, 2026

The Harvard Chan Studio is hosting a forward-looking conversation on what it means to lead in an era of cascading crises and persistent leadership vacuums.

Crisis leadership 25 years after 9/11