20th Anniversary of Sept. 11 Attacks: Rutgers Experts Available

Rutgers University–New Brunswick and Rutgers Law School faculty experts are available to discuss repercussions from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks 20 years ago in the United States and around the world. 

John J. Farmer, Jr.

Farmer, former senior counsel and team leader of the 9/11 Commission, is the director of Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers’ Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience and a university professor of law. His responsibilities for the 9/11 Commission included assessing the national reaction to the attacks and evaluating the state of national preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Farmer is the author of “The Ground Truth: The Untold Story of America Under Attack on 9/11,” a New York Times notable book. He can speak to what the 20th anniversary means, how it is significant to the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, America’s nation-defining issues still to be resolved and the current U.S. struggle with extremist groups.

Contact: Gabriella Morrone, 848-932-8809, [email protected]

Angus Kress Gillespie 

Gillespie, a professor of American Studies in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers, will teach “The Contemporary American: The 20th Anniversary of 9/11” this fall. His book “Twin Towers: The Life of New York City’s World Trade Center examines how the buildings became a coveted business address, a tourist destination and a symbol of New York City and the nation. He contributed to the forthcoming History Channel documentary “Rise and Fall: The World Trade Center,” which looks at the conception, construction and destruction of the towers. Gillespie can speak to cultural and societal changes in America pre- and post-Sept. 11 and the towers’ place in U.S. memory and contemporary America.

Contact: Megan Schumann, [email protected], 848-445-1907

Sahar Aziz

Azis is a professor of law and the Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar at Rutgers Law School. She is the founder of the Rutgers Center for Security, Race, and Rights and an expert on national security, race, the Middle East, and racial, ethnic and religious minorities. She formerly served as a Senior Policy Advisor for the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where she worked on law and policy at the intersection of national security and civil liberties. Aziz is the author of the forthcoming book, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom.

Contact: Sahar Aziz, 512-560-8084, [email protected]

Iris Udasin 

Udasin is a principal investigator at the World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence at Rutgers University. Udasin can speak on the health effects of World Trade Center exposures, including aerodigestive medical effects and the interaction of physical and mental health effects and exposure to toxins. 

Contact: Patti Verbanas, [email protected] or 848-932-0551.

Jodi Streich

Streich is mental health director at the World Trade Center Health Program Clinical Center of Excellence at Rutgers University. Streich can speak to the immediate and long-term impact of traumatic events on the mental health of World Trade Center responders. 

Contact: Patti Verbanas, [email protected] or 848-932-0551.

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