~13,000 studentsNone (One Pace Plaza building announcements; pre-Pace Alert)
Confirmed Timeline
Alert Sequence
4 messages in sequence
Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.
INITIAL ALERTPA System
Approximate reconstruction·175 chars
[An aircraft has struck the World Trade Center. Faculty and staff: keep students in classrooms. Stay away from windows. Protection Services will provide further instructions.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower at 8:46 AM EDT on September 11, 2001; Pace's One Pace Plaza is approximately two blocks northeast of the World Trade Center site
Initial messaging at Pace, like at most lower Manhattan institutions, was conservative — students were told to remain in classrooms because debris and people falling were visible outside
Pace had no mass-notification system in September 2001; the building's PA system, faculty, and Protection Services officers were the primary notification mechanism
After United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower at 9:03 AM EDT, the situation escalated and evacuation guidance was rapidly revised
UPDATEPA System
Approximate reconstruction·487 chars
[Attention all students, faculty, and staff in One Pace Plaza: evacuate your current locations and proceed to interior rooms and alternate spaces within One Pace Plaza. Do not exit the building onto Spruce Street, Park Row, or Frankfort Street. Move away from windows. Stairwells are to be kept clear for first responders. Protection Services officers and resident assistants will direct you. Resident students from downtown housing should remain in One Pace Plaza until further notice.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Pace's 9/11 Oral History Project documents that students were directed to evacuate classrooms to other locations within One Pace Plaza at approximately 10:00 AM EDT
Evacuating into the streets was not safe: the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM EDT, sending a debris cloud through lower Manhattan, and the North Tower collapsed at 10:28 AM EDT
Pace Protection Services and resident assistants directed students into interior spaces and the auditorium of One Pace Plaza away from windows
Students from Maria's Tower and other downtown residence halls were consolidated in One Pace Plaza as their dorms became inaccessible
UPDATEPA System
Approximate reconstruction·499 chars
[The FDNY and the New York City Office of Emergency Management have requested use of One Pace Plaza as a triage and field hospital site. President Caputo has approved this use. The Admissions Lobby is being converted to a triage center. Students must remain in interior assigned spaces and stay clear of the Admissions area. First responders and injured civilians will be moving through the building. Faculty and staff: assist Protection Services in maintaining order and account for your students.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
FDNY EMS cleared out the Admissions Lobby of One Pace Plaza and converted it into a triage center for victims of the World Trade Center attacks
The New York City Office of Emergency Management transformed the Admissions area into a field hospital with the approval of Pace President David Caputo
The proximity of One Pace Plaza to the World Trade Center site (approximately two blocks) made it one of the closest functional indoor spaces available for first responders
Students and faculty were directed to stay clear of the Admissions and triage areas; food and water were distributed by Protection Services in interior locations
FOLLOW-UPPA System
Approximate reconstruction·514 chars
[Pace University: classes at the New York City campus are suspended until further notice. Resident students from Maria's Tower and downtown housing will be transported to the Pleasantville campus where temporary housing and meals are being arranged. Commuter students should not return to the downtown campus until cleared by the City of New York. Faculty and staff should check Pace's main number for updated information. Counseling services will be available at Pleasantville and at the midtown Graduate Center.]
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
Pace's downtown New York City campus was closed for several days; students were transported to the Pleasantville (Westchester County) campus or relocated to alternate housing
Pace's main number and the university website (pace.edu) became the primary channels for updated information; there was no SMS broadcast or email-blast list of the kind common today
The Pace 9/11 Oral History Project, launched in 2002, has archived more than 200 first-person accounts from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and first responders
Pace alumni were among those killed in the World Trade Center attacks; the university holds an annual commemoration on September 11 at the One Pace Plaza plaza and Pleasantville campus
Context
Background
Pace University's downtown Manhattan campus at One Pace Plaza is one of the closest university campuses to the World Trade Center site — approximately two blocks northeast across Park Row. On the morning of September 11, 2001, Pace's experience of the September 11 attacks was unlike that of nearly any other U.S. university. Students in upper-floor classrooms saw United Airlines Flight 175 strike the South Tower at 9:03 AM EDT through the windows. As lower Manhattan filled with debris and emergency vehicles, Pace ordered students to evacuate classrooms to other locations within One Pace Plaza at approximately 10:00 AM EDT — going outside was not an option, because the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 AM and the North Tower at 10:28 AM, sending debris clouds through the streets immediately surrounding the building. The FDNY EMS cleared out the Admissions Lobby of One Pace Plaza and converted it into a triage center; the New York City Office of Emergency Management subsequently turned the Admissions area into a field hospital with the approval of Pace President David Caputo. Pace had no SMS or email mass-notification system in September 2001; all instructions were communicated through the building's PA system, faculty, Protection Services officers, and resident assistants going room to room. Approximately 2,000 students who lived in Pace's downtown residence halls were displaced; many were transported to the Pleasantville campus in Westchester County in the days that followed. The downtown campus was closed for several days. The case is significant for the archive because it documents how a private R2 university adjacent to a national-emergency site managed evacuation, building security, and emergency-services accommodation in real time, before mass-notification systems existed. Pace's 9/11 Oral History Project, launched in 2002, remains one of the most comprehensive university-led archives of first-person 9/11 accounts.
Analysis
Key Findings
01Pace University's One Pace Plaza campus sat two blocks from the World Trade Center site; students watched the South Tower strike through classroom windows at 9:03 AM EDT on September 11, 2001
02At approximately 10:00 AM EDT — between the two tower collapses — Pace ordered students to evacuate classrooms to other locations within One Pace Plaza, not into the streets, because the surrounding area was filling with debris and casualties
03FDNY EMS commandeered the Admissions Lobby as a triage center and the NYC Office of Emergency Management converted the Admissions area into a field hospital, with the approval of President David Caputo
04Pace had no SMS or email mass-notification system in 2001; communication relied on the building's PA system, faculty, Protection Services, and resident assistants
05Pace's 9/11 Oral History Project, launched in 2002, archives more than 200 first-person accounts and remains one of the most comprehensive university-led 9/11 archives in the United States
Outcome
No Pace students, faculty, or staff died on campus on September 11, 2001 (though several Pace alumni were among those killed in the World Trade Center attacks). Approximately 2,000 students who lived in Pace's downtown residence halls were displaced; the university converted academic buildings into temporary housing and worked with the City of New York on extended displacement. The downtown campus was closed for several days. Pace's 9/11 Oral History Project, launched in 2002, archives faculty, staff, student, and first-responder accounts of the response.