very sad

To: University of Chicago Alumni
From: President Robert J. Zimmer
Subject: Campus Tragedy

You may have seen news reports about the tragic killing of one of our graduate students on November 19. Amadou Cisse, an international student completing his Ph.D. degree in chemistry, was shot and killed at 1:26 a.m. Monday in the street near 6120 S. Ellis Ave. We are saddened and outraged by this terrible event, and our hearts go out to the student's family, friends, colleagues and neighbors.

Cisse had successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on November 1, and was scheduled to receive his degree at Convocation on December 7. The University will award his degree posthumously. A memorial service is being planned by his University colleagues and friends.


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I never met Amadou but I shared with him, the thrill and exhilaration that comes with your being a grad student at UofC.

I never met Amadou but I am sure we also shared the frustration that comes from living in the Hyde Park paradox: a beautiful neighborhood that is both an example of multicultural integration in one of the cities with the higher levels of racial segregation in the U.S. as well as one of the most dangerous in the metropolitan area.

I never met Amadou but I am absolutely sure that his mind was brilliant.

I never met Amadou and I am terribly sadden by the news. As I wipe off the tears that come out while I type these lines, I realize that we'll never read more about his research or important contributions to science. He'll never hug his family again or see his kids grow up.

I'm sad, very sad.