To the Alumnae and Alumni of MIT: Our society has been shaken by events that had been beyond our imagining. September 11, 2001 will stand as a generation-defining and world-changing moment in our collective history and our personal lives. For those of you who have been directly touched by this tragedy, I offer my deepest sympathy. Here on campus we have worked hard to ensure that our near-term response is one of thoughtful discussion and reflection. Looking beyond the campus, the Provost and I are in the process of establishing a process to assess how MIT might contribute its expertise to the challenge of protecting human life and the nation's infrastructure. I would like to give you a sense of MITs campus life during this period and how we have responded to the crisis. First, however, I want to acknowledge that the funding appeal that most of you received recently must have seemed like an inappropriate first communication after the attack on our nation. These letters had been put into the mail system before September 11. As of October 2, the Alumni Association has received notice that seven of your alumni friends and classmates have been confirmed as victims of the terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, there are other alumni who are still listed as missing, and our hearts go out to those families waiting for word about their loved ones. If you are from one of the affected areas and wish to let the MIT community know that you are safe, please post a message on the Are You Okay? bulletin board at http://alumweb.mit.edu/are-you-ok/. It is during tragedies like this that we are reminded that our strength lies in our sense of community. Please know that as MIT alumni, you are part of a global network of support. It was heartening this past weekend to see more than 300 alumni return to campus to participate in the Alumni Leadership Conference, coming together to support each other and the Institute at this difficult time. I am most grateful for your commitment to and faith in all that is good about MIT. The events of the past two weeks have tested us all. I believe that the faculty, students, staff, and alumni of MIT have demonstrated a wonderful sense of caring for each other and a resolve to sustain the best values that define this university and our society. Immediately and in the days that followed, faculty, students and staff developed many programs and activities to help people understand and cope with the crisis and its aftermath. These included keeping the chapel open and attended at all hours; deans and counselors reaching out to students across campus; vigils and prayer services; community gatherings and discussion groups; creation of memorial spaces; blood drives and other contributions to relief efforts; educational forums on campus and online; and individual faculty and staff getting together with their students, sometimes to discuss the crisis, sometimes to do something entirely different, like a trip to the art museum. To find out more about what has been happening on campus, please go to http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/www/. Or read some reflections from the MIT community about the events of September 11 at http://web.mit.edu/cms/reconstructions/. The past two weeks have not been without their tensions. Anxiety and anger have followed the shock and we face a time of great uncertainty. In these times especially, members of our community who are Muslim or from Middle Eastern or other backgrounds need our reassurance as a community that this occasion will not undermine our commitment to respect, learn from and support each other. Looking ahead, I am confident that we will sustain our vibrant sense of community throughout the weeks and months ahead. With best wishes, Sincerely yours, Charles M. Vest