Dear Niner Nation:
Yesterday, I announced that I would be forming a Niner Nation Remembrance Commission to lead the difficult conversations that will address how best to memorialize the victims and remember the tragedy that occurred on April 30.
I am pleased to share with you that fourteen members of the University and Charlotte communities have generously agreed to serve in this capacity, led by Emily Zimmern, former executive director and president of the Levine Museum of the New South. You can read more about the members on the Niner Nation Remembers website.
I have asked the commission to meet by the end of this month to organize their work. They will use the upcoming summer months to complete research on how other institutions and communities have reacted to tragedies similar to ours, and to allow time for reflection on the events of the past week.
We expect to have more to share with you about their work when we return for the start of the fall semester.
April 30 will always be part of our history, and we want to be thoughtful about how best to remember it.
Today, I wrote an op-ed in the Charlotte Observer, thanking the community for the support they have given us and reflecting on the past week. I remain grateful to them and to you for rallying together, united as Niner Nation.
Chancellor Philip L. Dubois