Brown University Forms Committee To Design Memorial for Shooting Victims
Brown University President Christina Paxson announced the formation of the Committee on the December 13 Memorial to develop a permanent campus memorial for victims of the Dec. 13, 2025, shooting….
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – DECEMBER 14: A bouquet is left outside of the engineering and physics building at Brown University, the site of a mass shooting yesterday that left at least two people dead and nine others injured, on December 14, 2025, in Providence, Rhode Island. A suspect in the shooting was detained overnight at a hotel in a nearby community following a manhunt across the prestigious university and the greater Providence area. The shooting took place around 4 p.m. on Saturday as students were preparing for exams and the holiday break. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Brown University President Christina Paxson announced the formation of the Committee on the December 13 Memorial to develop a permanent campus memorial for victims of the Dec. 13, 2025, shooting. The memorial will honor Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, two Brown students who died last fall.
“Creating a physical memorial on campus will be an important part of our community's journey of recovery and repair,” Paxson stated in an email shared with The Brown Daily Herald.
According to Paxson, the committee will actively engage students, faculty, alumni, staff, and the victims' families to gather input and identify high-visibility campus locations for the memorial. The committee's report will call for artists or designers and outline objectives and guiding principles for the memorial, which will be presented to the Brown Corporation — the university's highest governing body — for final approval, according to The Brown Daily Herald.
University Architect Craig Barton and Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Matthew Guterl agreed to co-chair the committee. Additionally, the committee will be composed of members of the campus community — faculty, staff, and students — nominated by campus governance organizations, including the Faculty Executive Committee, the Undergraduate Council of Students, and the Staff Advisory Council.
Beyond the memorial, Brown also intends to renovate the Barus and Holley classrooms, which have been closed since the Dec. 13 shooting. Officials aim to reopen the spaces in the coming year, with no courses scheduled in those rooms for the next academic year.
The memorial project is part of Brown's broader effort to acknowledge the shooting's impact among the members of its campus community. Related activities include a private May event for health care workers and first responders, and an August Waterfire lighting to honor first responders and those who offered support to the university following the tragedy.
