Brown is launching an initiative to support healing and recovery after the Dec. 13 mass shooting in Barus and Holley, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 announced in a Monday email to the Brown community.
The initiative, called “Brown Ever True,” will bring “together resources, programming and services focused on mental health, psychological wellness and ensuring a sense of physical security for our full community,” Paxson wrote. Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Matthew Guterl will lead the team coordinating the initiative, and the Brown University Community Council will constitute the advisory body.
Paxson added that a “campus-wide service” honoring Ella Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov and supporting the nine injured students is in the works for late January.
Interim Vice President for Public Safety and Police Chief Hugh Clements announced a slew of new safety actions Dec. 30, including the transition of key-access buildings to card-access and the installation of additional security cameras. Brown Ever True will include “opportunities for members of the campus community to share their experiences, perspectives and feedback about security infrastructure, staffing and approaches,” Paxson wrote.
Brown Ever True’s “roadmap to recovery” provides a timeline of University initiatives to support the community, starting in the spring with “thoughtful planning” for how Barus and Holley and adjacent areas will be used, expert input and workshops on recovery after trauma and more. Slated for the 2026–27 academic year “and beyond” are the installation of a campus memorial to the victims, “annual remembrance events” and various additional security and healing initiatives.
Over the winter break, the University has undertaken “extensive work” on Barus and Holley operations for the upcoming semester, Paxson wrote. Portions of the building, including multiple lecture halls, classrooms and hallways, will be closed and secured “behind new walls and emergency access doors,” she added. Classes will be relocated and schedules will be expanded to accommodate the closures.
The University will build upon existing resources for students and staff, including “expanded services across mental health, residential life, affinity centers, chaplaincy and student support services.” These services, bolstered in the immediate aftermath of Dec. 13, will begin to “shift from acute response to recovery.”
Staff members were provided 12 additional mental health counseling sessions in 2025 through Brown’s Employee Assistance Program. According to Paxson, University Human Resources “is now working with Brown’s provider, Spring Health,” to offer additional counseling in 2026. More on-site resources will be available to faculty, staff and postdoctoral researchers this week.
Emily Feil is a university news and metro editor covering staff & student labor and RISD. She is a sophomore from Long Beach, NY, studying English and international & public affairs. In her free time, she can be found watching bad TV and reading good books.
