President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20, emphasized the importance of maintaining the University’s core values while navigating security questions following the shooting on Dec. 13 at Tuesday’s faculty meeting.
Paxson updated faculty members on a new community initiative called “Brown Loves Providence,” new security initiatives and the post-shooting reviews.
The University expedited its process of adding blue light phones and panic buttons to classrooms, Paxson said, especially in places where staff handle cash, so that they “feel more secure.”
“I would like us to make sure that when we think of security, we think about it in a holistic manner,” Nadje Al-Ali, professor of international studies, anthropology and Middle East studies, said at the meeting. Recalling an event she attended last week, Al-Ali said that increased security presence does not always “generate safety” and can instead entail “very scary” behavior from officers for the community.
Paxson acknowledged Al-Ali’s concerns, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a sense of “openness” on campus.
“When people go to an academic seminar, they shouldn’t feel like they’re going through TSA to board an international flight,” Paxson added.
This spring, the University will be conducting “trauma-informed active shooter training,” Paxson added.
“This is hard for people who’ve been through an active shooter experience,” she said. “We have to do it in a sensitive way.”
Paxson outlined the two reviews Teneo is conducting: one after-action review and one comprehensive campus safety and security assessment.
She explained that the after-action review will be conducted first, and the comprehensive review will “ramp up” in March and April.
For the comprehensive review, Teneo will be collaborating with the Faculty Executive Committee and the Medical Faculty Executive Committee, Paxson said. The comprehensive review will also rely on input from students, alums and other community organizations.
“We spent a lot of time thinking about the external communications in a moment like this,” Provost Francis Doyle said. He added that peer universities advised Brown administrators to have strong internal communication during this period.
“We’re endeavoring to do better,” he added. “We know that it was bumpy for all of us in the beginning.”
Katie Biello, chair of the epidemiology department and a professor of behavioral and social sciences, said that the shooting “didn’t happen in a bubble” and that “we can’t blame the University for everything.”
Biello added that consideration should be given to whether security changes are “really going to do anything.” She believes that Brown should examine how to “make broader impacts in the world” on the issue of mass violence now that the University has been “unfortunately thrown into it.”
In addition to instating increased security measures, the University will be launching a local campaign called “Brown Loves Providence” from Feb. 10 to 14, to “publicly express gratitude to Providence’s businesses, community organizations and neighbors for their support during and following Dec. 13,” said Anna Lysyanskaya, chair of the FEC and computer science professor.
On Valentine’s Day, the words “Brown Loves Providence” will be projected on the Lindemann Performing Arts Center, Paxson said, noting how some restaurants on Thayer Street provided free food to students.
“This is part of our history,” Paxson said. “It’s going to shape how we think about ourselves, how we act, how we balance openness with security (and) how we support and protect the well-being of all members of our community.”
Even after the shooting, Brown received an increase in applicants this year, she added. “People want to come to Brown.”
Seyla Fernandez is a senior staff writer covering faculty.
Samah Hamid is a university news editor covering faculty and career & alumni. She is from Sharon, Massachusetts and plans to concentrate in Biology. In her free time, you can find her taking a nap, reading, or baking a sweet treat.
