Hendricks Chapel will conduct the annual Pan Am Flight 103 memorial service on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 2:03 p.m. EST. The service, held annually on this date and time, will begin in the Chapel’s Noble Room, with attendees then processing to the Place of Remembrance. This hybrid event will be offered in person at Hendricks Chapel and virtually. It will be live-streamed and it will be recorded to view at a later date on the events page of this site. Registration is required for the virtual service. After registration, you will receive a link to view the ceremony. You may also sign up and select to receive a recording of the service. Registration is not necessary for in-person attendees.

We will honor the 270 people, including Syracuse University study abroad students, who were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, on that date and time 36 years ago. Chaplains and Remembrance Scholars will offer prayers and reflections. Personal reflections and memories can be submitted upon registration and may be included in the ceremony.

Please note that this program is offering individual registration to ensure that all receive the necessary information directly. Closed captioning will be provided. Questions and requests for additional accommodations can be directed to Hendricks Chapel at chapelevents@syr.edu by Dec. 13.

This service is offered in partnership with the Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars, Hendricks Chapel, and the Office of Alumni Engagement.

All Syracuse University students are invited to learn more about the Remembrance Scholarship. Students planning to graduate in December 2025, May 2026 or summer 2026 are invited to apply now for the 2025-26 cohort.

The Remembrance Scholarship is one of the highest honors a Syracuse University student can receive. Those selected are chosen on the basis of leadership, creativity, thoughtful academic inquiry and community impact, including through service to the military, ROTC, first responder, student government, campus clubs or other community organizations.

The 35 rising seniors chosen are each awarded a $5,000 Remembrance Scholarship, and are charged with helping to educate the campus community about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

Scholars are expected to undertake meaningful service and to promote initiatives to combat hatred and extremism. Through education, all 270 lost in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, especially our 35 students, are remembered and honored. The motto of the Remembrance Scholars is “Look Back and Act Forward.”

Who Can Apply?

Any Syracuse University undergraduate student who is in good academic standing and will graduate in either December 2025, May 2026 or summer 2026 is eligible to apply. Students self-nominate for this scholarship. This award is not tied to financial need.

Information Sessions

Information sessions will be held on the following dates and times:

• Thursday, Dec. 5, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 104, Whitman School of Management
• Tuesday, Dec. 10, from 4 to 5 p.m. on Zoom (registration required)

At each session, current Remembrance Scholars will provide an overview of their experience, from the application stage to their participation in Remembrance Week.

To request accommodations for the information sessions, contact Melissa Welshans at mlwelsha@syr.edu.

Application Deadline

The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

Questions may be directed to remember@syr.edu. The application can be accessed at this link.

This year marks the 36th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988. The 2024-25 Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars have planned events and activities to remember the 270 people who lost their lives in the tragedy, and to educate on the ways they are acting forward.

Remembrance Week, the annual weeklong series of events planned by the Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars, will be held Sunday, Oct. 20, through Saturday, Oct. 26. Remembrance Week events are meant to memorialize the victims and further educate the campus community about terrorism. All activities are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Those who require accommodations to fully participate in these events should contact Radell Roberts at 315.443.0221 or rrober02@syr.edu.

The schedule of Remembrance Week events is available on the Events page of the Remembrance website, as well as in Syracuse University News.

Thirty-five students have been chosen as the 2024-25 Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars.

The scholarships, now in their 35th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through Syracuse University who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Those students were among the 270 people who perished in the bombing. The scholarships are funded through an endowment supported by gifts from alumni, friends, parents and corporations.

Significant support for the Remembrance Scholarships has been provided by Jean Thompson ’66 and Syracuse University Life Trustee Richard L. Thompson G’67 in memory of Jean Taylor Phelan Terry ’43 and John F. Phelan, Jean Thompson’s parents; by Board of Trustees Chairman Emeritus Steven Barnes ’82 and Deborah Barnes; by The Syracuse Association of Zeta Psi in memory of Alexander Lowenstein; and by the Fred L. Emerson Foundation.

Additionally, two students from Lockerbie come to Syracuse each year for one year of study through the Syracuse-Lockerbie Scholarships, also in their 35th year. The scholarships are jointly funded by Syracuse University and the Lockerbie Trust. Cameron Colville and Anna Newbould were recently selected as the 2024-25 Lockerbie Scholars.

Read more about the new cohort on Syracuse University News.

On Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 at 2:03 p.m. EST, the Syracuse University community gathered in person and virtually for the annual Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial Service. The service, hosted by the Dean and Chaplains of Hendricks Chapel, honored the 270 people, including Syracuse University study abroad students, who were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland on that date and time 35 years ago. A recording of this service, along with remembrances submitted by members of the Syracuse University and Lockerbie, Scotland communities, and family and friends of the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing in advance of the 2023 annual memorial service can be found on the Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial Service page of this site.

Read about how 2023-2024 Remembrance Scholars Sophie Creager-Roberts ’24, Benjamin Johnson ’24, Guerdyna Gelin ’24, Lucio Maffei ’24,  and Emily Shuman ’24 reflect 0n 35 years of healing, unity, and education in this recent story from Syracuse University News.

Hendricks Chapel will conduct the annual Pan Am Flight 103 memorial service on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 2:03 p.m. EST. The service will begin in the Chapel’s Noble Room, with attendees then processing to the Place of Remembrance.

The service will honor the 270 people, including Syracuse University study abroad students, who were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed by a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, on that date and time 35 years ago. Chaplains will offer prayers and reflections.

The event will also be offered virtually; registration is required. Personal reflections and memories, which can be submitted upon registration, may be included in the ceremony. Closed captioning will be provided. Requests for additional accommodations can be made by contacting Hendricks Chapel at chapelevents@syr.edu by Thursday, December 14.

This service is offered in partnership with the Remembrance and Lockerbie Scholars, Hendricks Chapel, and the Office of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving.

The Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc., (VPAF 103, Inc.), comprised of family members and friends of those whose lives ended when a terrorist bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988, is pleased to announce the next installment of their Legacy Speaker Series. This is a unique opportunity to learn from the next generation of leaders as they address the complex issues encompassing national security and terrorism prevention. All are invited to join this virtual speaker series as the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc.’s Legacy Fellows and Scholars share their inspiring stories and the impact that they are making through their work and scholarship. Event details and registration information are as follows:

Date and Time: Thursday, January 18, 2024 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time

Title: Ivory and Instagram: The Link Between Wildlife Trafficking, Social Media, and National Security

Speaker: Cody Gardiner, 2023-24 Victims of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc. Fellow

Cody Gardiner completed his bachelor’s degree at Emory University, where he double majored in international studies and history with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. After graduation, he interned at CNN before working for three years in risk and intelligence analysis. Gardiner currently serves as a threat manager on Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals team, where he conducts research on terrorist organizations, criminal entities, and hate groups. He is a master’s student at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, concentrating on international security issues. After graduation, Cody intends to pursue a career focusing on the intersection of transnational crime and national security.

This event will be broadcast live on Zoom. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. Register in advance for this virtual event at this link.

In honor of Remembrance Week, the most recent episode of the Syracuse University podcast, ’Cuse Conversations, featured three Remembrance Scholar alumni: Julie Friend ’92 (VPA), Hannah (Visnosky) Rafferty ’16 (Falk) and her husband, Luke Rafferty ’16 (Newhouse). They reflect on the significant impact the Remembrance Scholars program had on them, share their stories of why they wanted to become Remembrance Scholars and explain how they continue to honor the lives of the University students who died on the flight. You can read a profile of Julie, Hannah, and Luke on Syracuse University News, and listen to the full podcast episode on the ‘Cuse Conversations page.

Dec. 21, 2023, will mark the 35th anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The bombing claimed the lives of 259 people on the plane, including students returning from a semester of study abroad through Syracuse University, and 11 people on the ground in Lockerbie.

The Remembrance Scholar and Lockerbie Scholars programs were established one year later. Since that time, the University has awarded 1,190 Remembrance Scholarships to Syracuse University students and welcomed 68 students from Lockerbie to Syracuse for a year as Lockerbie Scholars. Now, in this community and throughout the world, they act forward on behalf of all the promising lives lost too soon.

Now until the anniversary on Dec. 21, we will feature some of the alumni who were named Remembrance or Lockerbie Scholars over the past 34 years, to learn how they are impacted by their Remembrance experience and how they continue to live the Remembrance mission to “Look Back. Act Forward.”

The first vignette features Leo Wong ’14, a native of San Gabriel, California, and current resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. Wong earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and was a Remembrance Scholar during the 2013-14 academic year.

You can read Leo’s full vignette on the Syracuse University News site. Subsequent vignettes will be featured here on remembrance.syr.edu