Observations
By Katharine C. Lyall, UW System President

Responding to Tragedy

A crisis came upon us Sept. 11 like a sudden, late-summer thunderstorm, clouding the peaceful plans of governments, universities and individuals in ways no one could have foreseen. The crisis is not yet passed, and may be with us for some time to come.

While no UW System staff or students were involved directly in the terrorist attacks that morning, I know of seven alumni who lost their lives in New York City or Virginia. We share with their families and friends in mourning these deaths.

Some of our students have since been called to active duty in the National Guard and reserves. Others sit in class and await the call, not knowing when or whether they will go; not knowing when or whether they will return.

As we did during the Persian Gulf crisis in 1990-91, the UW System will do everything possible to support and assist these part-time soldiers as they prepare to serve our country. And we will welcome them back when their service is ended, offering the smoothest possible transition to campus life.

I am proud of the way the UW System responded to the tragic events of Sept. 11. Immediately, almost instinctively, we closed ranks as a community and cared for each other. To those outside the university, we provided models of thoughtful discussion, expressions of heartfelt anguish, and examples of solemn reflection. In the aftermath, it is important that we--as a university system, as a state, and as a nation--not succumb to the urge to condemn all that is "foreign." Those who would expel all international students, or severely limit access to student visas, forget how important the global academic exchange has become to all of us.

I am reminded in this regard of two students--one from Fond du Lac and the other from Ghana--who attended Macalester College, one during 1968-72 and the other during 1959-61 under a Ford Foundation program. The first is now governor of Wisconsin: Scott McCallum. The other is now secretary general of the United Nations and recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize: Kofi Annan. Exposure to international students benefited Scott McCallum, while exposure to the United States benefited Kofi Annan. (I might add that exposure to the former Yugoslavia, while working there as a doctoral student under a Ford Foundation grant in 1967-68, benefited Katharine Lyall.)

If we dismantle such a valuable network of international academic exchange, by overreacting in a moment of crisis, we risk a loss that will haunt us long after the present conflict is over.

These events have given added urgency to the upcoming Wisconsin Economic Summit II (see the cover story). The state's already precarious revenue situation has worsened, as individuals, companies and whole industries have shortened sail in the squall.

It is always prudent to re-evaluate our plans in perilous times, but it is important that we not lose sight of the future while we struggle in the present. We as a university system, in cooperation with state government and private business, can provide steady leadership and a clear vision, as well as an honest forum for the airing of ideas on how to reshape industry, agriculture, tourism and education. That is exactly what Wisconsin Economic Summit II is designed to accomplish, and we will do all we can to make it a success.

Many things changed on Sept. 11. Our mission--to teach, to search, to serve--did not. Nor did our sense of community, or our commitment to openness. In all that lies ahead, may we remain firm in our devotion to principles that acts of terrorism--no matter how savage--cannot destroy.