Outstanding alumnus recalls 9/11 World Trade Center experience

[Anthony Schirripa] (http://archone.tamu.edu/college/people/alumni/outstanding/details.rails?id=109) ’73, an outstanding alumnus of Texas A&M’s College of Architecture, recalled the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in a first-person account published in the [New York Times] (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/jobs/11boss.html?_r=2&emc=eta1) Sept. 12, 2011.

On the day of the attack, Schirripa, chairman of [Mancini•Duffy] (http://www.manciniduffy.com/) , was in the architecture firm’s 21st and 22nd floor offices in the World Trade Center’s south tower.

“When the first plane hit the north tower, I was peering out the window at the plaza below while listening to my voicemail,” Schirripa said. “A man was walking toward the north tower when he looked to his right and started running. I heard a pop, thought I smelled diesel fuel and wondered if an emergency generator had exploded in a test. (Later, I knew it was jet fuel.) I decided we should evacuate.”

Schirripa, who earned Bachelor of Environmental Design and Bachelor of Building Construction degrees at Texas A&M, has been a driving force in transforming Mancini•Duffy, from a mid-sized New York practice to a large, multi-office operation with a diversified client base and an international reputation.

His emphasis on strategic planning, investments in technology, training and continuing education and his businesslike approach to project and practice management are the foundation for the firm’s growth.

He was a featured speaker at longtime architecture faculty member John Only Greer’s June 4, 2011 retirement [dinner] (http://archone.tamu.edu/college/news/newsletters/spring2011/stories/Greer_retiring.html) .