Project Rebirth Screening and Panel

Remarks by John J. DeGioia
John Carroll Weekend
Project Rebirth Screening
Miller Theatre, Columbia University
April 15, 2009

Thank you, Brian, for your kind introduction and for all that you do in your role as Chairman of Project Rebirth. We’re proud to have you as one of our alums.

I’d like to welcome all of you to this first event of the 2009 John Carroll Weekend – a screening and discussion of Project Rebirth.

We’re especially privileged to have with us tonight Alice Greenwald, Director of the National September 11th Memorial and Museum…along with Project Rebirth’s producer and Georgetown alum, Jim Whitaker, to speak about the development of the documentary and how it will contribute to the September 11th Memorial and Museum.

We also have with us this evening a panel of distinguished faculty from Georgetown and Columbia University to share their thoughts on Project Rebirth, and our collaborative effort to aid the development of the Museum…and to engage the resources that Project Rebirth has collected, as materials for teaching students about narrative, grief, and film.

Specifically, with the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning and Project Rebirth, we’ve created an educational initiative that allows faculty to access the film collected during Project Rebirth’s development, and to use that content as teaching materials in their classrooms. The project focuses on how experiences of the film can create a deeper understanding of 9/11 and of the struggles and strength of those coping with grief.

I want to thank Project Rebirth, Columbia University and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning, the National September 11th Memorial and Museum, and our own Berkley Center for Religion Peace and World Affairs and Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS)—for all of their contributions to this project…and we look forward to continuing this partnership.

At the center of this collaboration is the work that Jim and Brian, and their many associates, are doing to capture the progress of rebuilding since September 11th.

There is special resonance screening this documentary here…as Project Rebirth follows the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site. Now in its 7th year of filming, and set to continue filming until the site has been completely rebuilt, the film weaves time-lapse photography with stories of ten individuals recovering from personal losses on September 11th.

Capturing these lives and the physical reconstruction of the area, the film provides a historical memory of the tragedy and a tribute to those most affected by it. In doing so, it contributes, in its own way, to the rebuilding and healing process.

Project Rebirth aims to create, in its own words, “a living history of the human spirit coping with disaster.” With your participation in this event tonight, you’re contributing both to the living history of the film and to the narratives of strength and resilience.

Project Rebirth is also dedicated to raising funds to be invested in a “Project Rebirth Center.” The Center, once opened, will provide educational and other resources for the victims of traumatic events and first responders. And all of the proceeds and donations from the production of the documentary that we will see in a few minutes will go to the funding of this future Center.

We’re extremely proud of Jim, Brian, Project Rebirth, and all our partner’s efforts to deepen the conversation about trauma and healing after September 11th. Their work reminds us of the powerful effect that the media can have in educating and inspiring…and in creating a common experience—a collective memory—for those rebuilding their lives after tragedy.

Introduction of Alice Greenwald
A vital partner in this effort is the Director of the Memorial Museum, Alice Greenwald. She began her work at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in 2006, and her roles include directing the development of the Memorial Museum and serving as Executive Vice President for Programs. Previously, Ms. Greenwald worked at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, serving as the associate museum director for museum programs. She was also involved as a consultant and technical expert in many aspects of the museum’s exhibits. Additionally, she was a principal for “Alice M Greenwald/Museum Services.”

It’s now my pleasure to introduce to you Ms. Alice Greenwald…

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I hope you all found the Project Rebirth preview as engaging and thoughtful as I did. It’s now time to move to our panel discussion. I will introduce all of the panelists, and then we will begin our discussion with some prepared questions.


Introduction of Katherine Shear
Our first panelist, Dr. Katherine Shear, is the Marion E. Kenworthy Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia University School of Social Work. Her current research focuses on studies of bereavement and grief. In her work on Panic Disorders, she developed a series of scales which are used to assess, among other things, adult separation anxiety disorder. In June of 2005, she completed the first randomized controlled treatment study for complicated grief.

Over her career, Dr. Shear has worked at a variety of medical institutions, including the Payne Whitney Clinic—where she established the department’s first clinical research program in Anxiety Disorders; the Cornell University Department of Psychiatry; the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and the University of Pittsburg—where she did clinical work relating to women with mood and anxiety disorders. Kathy, we are glad you could be with us today to share your expertise. Welcome.

Introduction of Randall Bass
Our second panelist this evening is my colleague, Dr. Randall Bass. Dr. Bass is an Associate Professor, and Executive Director and Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning Initiatives of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS)—which encourages innovation and new teaching models—at Georgetown University. His current activities include the Visible Knowledge Project, which is a national research project on learning and technology in the humanities, and the book: Hyper Activity and Under Construction: Learning Culture in the 21st Century. He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the EDUCAUSE medal for outstanding achievement in technology and undergraduate education. Thank you, Randy, for being with us tonight.

Introduction of George Bonanno
Our third panelist, Dr. George Bonanno, is a Professor of Education and Psychology at Columbia University’s Teachers College in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology. His particular research interests include the ways that people respond to grief and trauma. His work on defining the psychological resilience in adults exposed to adversity has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and the results were published in Psychological Science. Welcome George.

Introduction of Bernard Cook
Our next panelist is also my colleague, and fellow Georgetown alum, Dr. Bernard Cook, the Associate Dean of Georgetown College and an Adjunct Professor of American Studies. He graduated from Georgetown College in 1990 and from the Masters of Arts program in 1991. He currently teaches courses on social justice documentaries and the American documentary tradition, and his research centers on documentary video production, film and television violence and spectatorship, and how the news covers war. He is the Editor of Thelma and Louise! (2007), has worked on the short Documentary, Changing Room (2001), and has served on the Programming Advisory Committee for the SILVERDOCS International Documentary Film Festival. At Georgetown, he has also served as the Associate Director of the John Carroll Scholars Program. We are so glad to have you with us tonight, Bernie. Welcome.

Introduction of Jim Whitaker
And lastly, I’d like to reintroduce Jim Whitaker, the Director of this remarkable film, who will be joining our panel as well.

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Thank you all for sharing your insights. It’s now time for us to close this program, and I’d like to ask Brian to offer some closing thoughts…