College of DuPage will display 2,996 American flags on its Glen Ellyn campus Sept. 11, one for each person killed in the 2001 terrorist attacks, as the college marks the 25th anniversary with a public ceremony open to all Glenbard-area residents.

The ceremony begins at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 11 in the Mock Courtroom of the Robert J. Miller Homeland Security Education Center, located at Fawell Boulevard and Lambert Road, according to a COD newsroom announcement. It will be livestreamed on the College of DuPage Facebook page for those unable to attend in person.

Suburban Law Enforcement Academy recruits will present the colors and lead a ceremonial procession accompanied by bagpipers. Attendees will then place flowers at COD's permanently displayed section of World Trade Center steel, a 27-inch by 127-inch I-beam weighing more than 1,000 pounds believed to have come from a lower floor of one of the Twin Towers. Concrete remains attached to one end where the beam was once anchored to a floor.

COD received the beam from the New York Port Authority in 2011 after applying alongside thousands of other organizations. The college says it is one of only a handful of educational institutions nationwide to house a piece of the towers.

"We have an obligation as a community to remember and respect with gratitude those who died as well as the difficult but important history of 9/11," COD President Muddassir Siddiqi said in the announcement.

Siddiqi will be joined by Homeland Security Training Institute Program Manager John Mondelli, Emergency Management Services/Fire Science Program Manager Brian Baudek and Suburban Law Enforcement Academy Manager Michael Zegadlo. Historical photographs and a reflection wall where visitors can share memories will also be on display.

The flags will line the front lawn of the Homeland Security Education Center. COD has held annual 9/11 remembrance ceremonies in prior years, according to board of trustees meeting minutes from September 2025, but this year's event marks the milestone 25th anniversary.

The ceremony is free and open to the public.