Brown is committed to memorializing the two students who lost their lives on December 13, 2025, in the mass shooting that devastated our community. The process of memorialization is an important part of the campus-wide Brown Ever True healing and recovery effort.

As the community continues its journey of repair, the Committee on the December 13 Memorial is charged with developing formal recommendations for a permanent campus memorial honoring the lives of Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov as part of Brown’s broader efforts to recognize the lasting impact of the December 13 attack. An essential part of the committee’s work will be to engage the campus and alumni communities in conceiving a vision for a memorial that pays homage to those lost, and serves as an enduring tribute to the values they embodied as members of the Brown community. 

The committee will:

• Facilitate community discussion and solicit input from students, faculty, staff and alumni to explore questions of tone, look, feel and design elements.
• Consult with the families of Ella Cook and MukhammadAziz Umurzokov to understand what would be meaningful and appropriate to them.
• Identify potential locations on campus where a physical memorial would have high visibility and symbolic resonance.

The committee, charged by President Christina H. Paxson, is expected to submit its proposal in the form of a report by the end of the fall semester of the 2026-2027 academic year. 

The report should include the following:  

• Recommendations based on the community engagement phase.
• A proposed formal Call for Artists/Designers, including goals, objectives and guiding principles for the development of a memorial consistent with the committee’s recommendations.
• Recommendations for ongoing curricula or programming tied to the memorial.

Informed by the committee’s report, the president will make a recommendation to the Corporation of Brown University through the Committee on Facilities and Campus Planning and its Subcommittee on Public Art (as well as any other designated Corporation committees) related to the siting of the memorial and any other aspects of the memorial the Corporation is charged with reviewing and approving.

The committee — made up of students, faculty and staff  appointed by the president with input from the appropriate faculty, staff and student governance organizations — will be co-chaired by University Architect Craig Barton and Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Matthew Guterl.