When New York native President Emeritus Donald V. DeRosa reflected on his tenure at University of the Pacific, he spoke about Pacific’s response to the attacks on September 11, 2001.

The New York native was visiting residence halls later that day after the news broke, checking in on students and offering support, when he saw some students he recognized deliberating over an important decision. 

“I saw a group of Muslim students talking to one another,” DeRosa said. “They were trying to decide whether to have their meeting that night.”

The group went back and forth, weighing their options. DeRosa said he could tell that the students were fearful about having the event, so he decided to offer hands-on support. He assured the students they would be protected, and that they were always going to be welcome at Pacific. He told them they shouldn’t be afraid, and asked if he could attend the event himself to help alleviate their concerns. 

The students accepted, and DeRosa came to the meeting that evening, delivering a message of strength and support. To his surprise, the group comprised several students who were not Muslim and not involved in the club.

“As I spoke, I saw students who I knew were members of the Hillel Jewish Student Club. They told me, ‘We came to support our fellow students.’ That told me so much about Pacific.”

Camaraderie in the face of adversity may have told DeRosa about the character of Pacific students, but it also reflected heavily on the kind of leader he was. 

DeRosa emphasized values of empathy and compassion throughout his presidency and embodied those principles through his actions.

“Would the world not be a better place if people had empathy?” he asked his peers in a Leading Voices seminar in 2021. “Would it not be a better place if people could put themselves in the other person’s shoes?” 

In the days after the attacks in New York, DeRosa also underscored the power of faith, regardless of denomination, and encouraged students to move forward with understanding and to hold space for one another in the unprecedented times. 

“That was a horrible day for everyone,” DeRosa recalled. “We wanted to come together as a university to begin the process of healing.”