The University is in the process of renovating 10 Barus and Holley classrooms that were closed after the Dec. 13 shooting, with the goal of having the rooms available for use in the middle of the 2026-27 academic year, according to a Thursday Today@Brown announcement.
Given the “inherent uncertainties involved in such a significant renovation,” courses will not be scheduled in these classes for the upcoming academic year, the announcement reads. The closed rooms make up roughly 10% of the University’s 105 registrar-controlled classrooms, and 33% of the large classrooms on campus.
“These classrooms are critical to fulfilling Brown’s educational mission, in addition to being heavily used for student organization meetings, events and other activities,” President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote in the announcement.
Preliminary results from the most recent Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management campus-wide survey earlier this semester indicated that students “expressed greater concern” returning to the classrooms, while a majority of staff and faculty felt comfortable, according to Paxson.
In consultation with faculty in the School of Engineering and the Departments of Physics, Applied Mathematics and Mathematics — the departments most affected by the classrooms’ closure — the areas will be designed to “look and feel very different” from before, with increased natural lighting, new furniture and technology and spaces dedicated for socializing, Paxson wrote.
The University also plans to provide support to individuals returning to the classroom, similar to those provided when other previously closed areas in Barus and Holley were reopened in January.
Over the summer, security camera coverage will also be expanded to include buildings that host “sensitive research,” house “critical infrastructure” or have large public gatherings over the summer, Paxson wrote. She added that these spaces currently have varying levels of camera coverage.
These changes to camera coverage are “distinct” from the campus-wide safety and security assessment by global consulting firm Teneo, which will help inform the University’s “overall approach to security cameras,” Paxson wrote.
Teneo is in the process of conducting an after-action review focused on the response to the shooting on Dec. 13 and the periods before and after the incident. Key outcomes from the assessment are set to be shared with the community in August, according to Paxson.
“All of this work reflects our commitment to placing our community’s safety and well-being at the center of all we do,” she wrote. “While we continue to hold in our hearts the losses that will leave Brown forever changed, I am looking ahead with hope and optimism.”
Talia is a metro section editor covering the health and environment and community and culture beats. She is a sophomore from Bethesda, MD studying history and international and public affairs. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Providence one wrong turn at a time.
