SINCE 1891
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD VOLUME CLX, ISSUE 4
BROWNDAILYHERALD.COM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Corporation approves 4.25% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees
MARAT BASARIA / HERALD
University Hall on Nov. 4, 2025. Next year's tuition increase is based on a review of financial trends, President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 wrote in a Today@Brown announcement.
The Corporation also accepted over $90 million in gifts BY ROMA SHAH AND JEREMIAH FARR UNIVERSITY NEWS EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF WRITER The Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — approved a 4.25% increase in undergraduate tuition and fees at its February meeting, according to a Monday Today@Brown announcement from
President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20. Total undergraduate tuition and fees have risen to $97,016 for the upcoming academic year, an increase from $93,164 in direct costs for the 2025-26 school year. Medical school tuition is increasing 2.75% and most graduate programs will see a 4% price hike. The increases will go into effect for the 2026-27 academic year and are based on a review of financial trends, including Brown’s structural operating deficit, its recent expansion of financial aid initiatives, budget-reduction measures and external
factors such as inflation, Paxson wrote. The price hike will be implemented alongside a projected $6.5 million increase in the undergraduate financial aid budget, a reduction from last year’s $17 million increase. During their meeting, the Corporation also approved a 3% total increase in the salary pool for all employees earning up to and including $80,000 a year — composed of a 2.5% increase in base salary and a 0.5% increase in designated funding for promotions, retention and equity. They also approved a 2% total increase for all
employees earning over $80,000 — a 1.5% increase in base salary and a 0.5% increase in PRE components. The increases in tuition and salaries are based on a mid-cycle report and recommendations from the University Resources Committee, a group of faculty members, students and administrators who regularly provide reports and recommendations to the Corporation related to University finances, Paxson wrote. This year, the URC chose not to include a merit allocation — which consists of performance-based pay increases — in the
total salary pool. Dividing the salary increase into base and merit pools “would have resulted in a very small merit pool that would not have a meaningful impact on the University’s performance evaluation process,” Paxson wrote in the announcement. The absence of a merit pool “does not obviate the need for and importance of robust performance evaluations and feedback processes conducted by all supervisors, as normally occurs in the spring of each
SEE TUITION PAGE 3
PUBLIC RECORDS
MEMORIAL
City of Providence closes investigation into Dec. 13 shooting, releases public records
Students, faculty, community members gather to remember Ella Cook, Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov
The records include bodycam footage from the Providence police and fire departments
The memorial service was held in Sayles Hall on Saturday
MICHELLE BI METRO EDITOR About two months after the Dec. 13 mass shooting that left two students dead and nine injured, the City of Providence released a series of public records from the day of the event. The records include body camera footage from law enforcement’s initial response, incident reports from the police and fire departments and the audio from calls received by the Providence Police Department. In a Monday press conference, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said that the release marks the closure of the PPD’s investigation into the
Opinions
shooting. The Providence Fire Department received the first call reporting the shooting at 4:05 p.m. on Dec. 13, according to the fire department call log. At approximately 4:06 p.m., Providence police responded to Barus and Holley, PPD records read. By 4:09 p.m., officers in Brown’s Department of Public Safety reported that three individuals were shot, according to the fire department logs. Smiley said that the body camera footage from Providence Police Lt. Patrick Potter, the commanding officer of the special response unit, was selected for release because this “singular bodycam” provides “the most comprehensive view” of the PPD’s initial response. The body camera footage begins at 4:16 p.m. on t=
SEE RECORDS RELEASE PAGE 4
SEE GUPTA PAGE 10
BY LUCIA SANTIAGO AND MIRIAM DAVISON SENIOR STAFF WRITERS The Brown community came together to honor Ella Cook ’28 and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov ’29 at an official University memorial service this weekend. On Saturday, Sayles Hall was transformed into a space for grief and reflection filled with music, prayer, flowers and candlelight. Students, faculty and community members gathered to watch the service, which was broadcast from the hall to locations across campus and online for alums and community members to watch virtually.
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Brady Ahn ’29 described feeling a mix of anxiety, sadness and gratitude as he walked into Sayles Hall for the memorial service. “There was definitely anxiety walking into a space shaped by grief, but more than anything, I felt a deep sadness and heaviness,” he wrote in a message to The Herald. Still, Ahn felt “grateful to be surrounded by others who were feeling the same loss,” and that “being there made the tragedy feel more real, but also less isolating,” he wrote. At the service, students, faculty and administrators shared reflections on Cook and Umurzokov’s lives, and on the impact that the Dec. 13 shooting had on Brown’s community. Elina Coutlakis-Hixson ’28, a close friend of Cook’s, spoke on the impact her friend made on her life in a speech at the memorial. Coutlakis-Hixson
SEE MEMORIAL SERVICE PAGE 3
SEE POST- PAGE 8