UNIVERSITY NEWS | Did you know most of our #LMU23 Lions were born in 2001? As our first-year students take on their first year on campus, here’s a look back at what was happening that year at LMU and around the globe:
LMU:
- LMU’s president was Rev. Robert B. Lawton, S.J.
- LMU completed the interior remodel of the recently-acquired University Hall in April 2001. The addition of University Hall increased facilities for LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts and university departments.
- In 2001, 5,144 undergraduate, 1,424 graduate, and 1,404 law students were enrolled at the university.
- The 2001 Undergraduate Commencement speaker was Lawrence Bobo, noted author, teacher and sociologist. The 2001 Graduate Commencement speaker was Marilyn Jachetti Whirry, National Teacher of the Year for 2000.
- Other speakers who visited LMU in 2001 included: 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, famed poet and educator E. Ethelbert Miller, and human rights activist and author Emma Sepúlveda.
- LMU was among 15 institutions nationwide to receive a 2000 Verizon Focus grant for its science and engineering efforts.
- And the university’s website looked a little something like this:
Pop Culture & Entertainment:
- Lifehouse’s “Hanging By a Moment” was Billboard’s No. 1 song of 2001.
- Disney Channel’s series “Lizzie Mcguire” premiered Jan. 12.
- Gladiator won Best Picture at the 73rd Academy Awards.
- The most popular TV show was Friends.
- The highest-grossing film was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (followed by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Monsters, Inc.).
- The most popular book was John Grisham “Skipping Christmas.”
Sports:
- Super Bowl Champions: Baltimore Ravens
- NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
- MLB Champions: Arizona Diamondbacks
- NHL Stanley Cup Champions: Colorado Avalanche
Technology:
- Wikipedia launched Jan. 15, 2001.
- X-Box made its debut Nov. 15, 2001.
- Apple released the iPod on Oct. 23, 2001.
- The top-selling video game was Grand Theft Auto III.
- The top-selling PC game was The Sims.
U.S and World News:
- Jan. 13: A 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit all of El Salvador, killing at least 800 people and leaving thousands homeless.
- Jan. 20: George W. Bush was sworn into office, succeeding Bill Clinton as President of the United States, over candidate contender Al Gore in the disputed U.S. presidential election in 2000.
- Jan. 26: An earthquake hit Gujarat, India, killing almost 20,000.
- Feb. 15: The first draft of the complete human genome was published in the journal “Nature.”
- July 19: Michael Brunet discovered the skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis in the Djurab Desert, Chad. It is one of the oldest known species in the human family tree (6-7 million years old).
- Sept. 11: 2,997 people, including LMU alumnus Yeneneh Betru ‘88, are killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City, The Pentagon and in rural Shanksville, Penn.
- Sept. 18: The anthrax attacks commenced as letters containing anthrax spores were mailed from Princeton, N.J., to ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer. Twenty-two people in total are exposed, resulting in five fatalities.
