It is an honor for me to be here today, September 11, 2002, to give this address at the beginning of the academic year on a very significant anniversary. 1 I am sure everyone can vividly recall what he or she was doing ·last year at this time. There are moments in our lives that take on great personal meaning because they are life-altering. They shift our focus from the mundane issues of life to the critical questions that face each one of us during our lifetimes. Sometimes these experiences are profoundly personal-the death of a loved one, a critical illness, a divorce; or, on a much more positive note, falling in love, having children, achieving a personal goal. But at other times these life-altering experiences are collective in nature-they are experienced by a nation or by great numbers of people. For my parents' generation, it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. For my generation, it was the assassination of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King, Jr. All of us here today will always remember what we were doing last year at this time. I hope the students will also recall this day in the future for a more positive reason. For the students who are beginning their college careers, this is also a momentous occasion. I hope it will be a more positive life-altering event.