PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University leaders are working with experts from the global consulting firm Teneo on plans for engaging members of the campus and local communities in two external reviews that will inform recommendations about Brown’s safety and security policies and infrastructure after the devastating events of Dec. 13.
Russell Carey, Brown’s executive vice president for planning and policy, described the approach in a Thursday, Jan. 29, message to the Brown community. Brown’s After-Action Review includes a complete assessment and evaluation of campus safety in the period leading up to the tragedy, the preparedness and response on Dec. 13, and the emergency management response in the aftermath, he noted. And a comprehensive Campus Safety and Security Assessment is focused on Brown’s safety and security policies, procedures, infrastructure and training.
Teneo will work with the University to identify stakeholders and the most effective formats for soliciting input and providing information about the reviews, Carey wrote. Depending on the best formats to engage various members of the Brown community, Teneo intends to engage through a variety of channels, including interviews, listening sessions and/or surveys.
“In the weeks ahead, the experiences of members of the Brown community will play an important role in answering questions about what it means to maintain a campus where students, faculty and staff feel secure in their living, learning and working environments,” he wrote.
Carey’s full letter is included below.
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Engagement with safety and security assessment
In the weeks ahead, the experiences of members of the Brown community will play an important role in answering questions about what it means to maintain a campus where students, faculty and staff feel secure in their living, learning and working environments.
With the start of the Spring 2026 semester, I am writing to share that a team of experts from the global consulting firm Teneo is working with the University on plans for engaging members of the campus community in the two external reviews that will inform recommendations about Brown’s safety and security policies and infrastructure after the devastating events of Dec. 13. I want to remind our community about the scope of these reviews and share information about Teneo and the team that will perform this work.
As President Christina H. Paxson shared in her letter to the community on Dec. 22, the Corporation of Brown University, the institution’s governing board, is providing oversight for two external reviews to evaluate Brown’s response to the tragedy and the University’s safety and security systems and practices:
- After-Action Review: An essential part of any recovery and response following a mass-shooting event, this review includes a complete assessment and evaluation of campus safety in the period leading up to the tragedy, the preparedness and response on Dec. 13, and the emergency management response in the aftermath.
- Comprehensive Campus Safety and Security Assessment: This assessment is focused on Brown’s safety and security policies, procedures, infrastructure and training. The work builds on current measures underway to enhance security — including an on-site physical security assessment of buildings, access points, cameras and technology, and other security infrastructure — and will inform any longer-term improvements throughout the spring semester and beyond.
An important part of both these reviews includes engaging the campus and local communities. While both reviews were prompted by the tragedy, they include a comprehensive assessment of a broad range of internal and external safety threats and best practices for response. Teneo brings to this work a team of nationally recognized security experts who will conduct their work at the direction of outside legal counsel.
Teneo has extensive experience with conducting higher-education campus safety and public safety assessments across the country, including high-profile incidents such as the 2025 terror attack in New Orleans. The firm has more than 1,800 employees and 50 offices around the globe and advises many of the largest and most complex corporations and organizations worldwide.
The team at Teneo performing the Brown reviews is co-led by Courtney Adante, whose work focuses on risk management and crisis preparedness and response, and Bill Bratton, who previously served as commissioner of the New York Police Department and chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Commissioner Bratton knows the University well, having conducted public safety assessments for Brown earlier in his career.
In addition, Gene Deisinger will serve as a special adviser to the Teneo team, providing expertise in behavioral threat assessment and management. Deisinger has deep experience with campus safety and security, having served as the deputy chief of police and director of threat management services for Virginia Tech following the 2007 mass shooting on that campus. He also served as a subject matter expert for the U.S. Department of Justice’s critical incident review of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
This team of experts is committed to engaging with our many campus stakeholders — from students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and beyond — as well as our residential and business neighbors in Providence. Teneo will work with the University to identify stakeholders and the most effective formats for soliciting input and providing information about the reviews. Depending on the best formats to engage various members of the Brown community, Teneo intends to engage through a variety of channels, including interviews, listening sessions, and/or surveys.
We appreciate that Teneo’s approach to community engagement will reflect a commitment to ensuring outcomes of the external reviews are informed by a range of perspectives of what it means to sustain a safe and secure teaching and learning community for Brown. And as outlined in a Jan. 16 message to the campus community, “Update on Campus Security and Facility Access,” we remain fully committed to both the safety and security of the Brown campus and sustaining our sense of community. We are confident that the work of the Teneo team will help the University remain faithful to these commitments. The University plans to share key outcomes of both reviews with our community and the public. The reviews are expected to proceed over the course of this semester.
Security enhancements will continue to proceed as the reviews take place. As we shared previously, the University initiated rapid response security reviews after Dec. 13, including a physical security assessment, by external campus security firms focused on ensuring that our campus was prepared, supported and operationally ready for the start of the Spring 2026 semester. That work is largely completed and led to a number of physical security enhancements on campus, which are discussed in the Security and Access Updates (FAQs) section of the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management website.
Providing our campus with recovery resources also remains a priority. The Brown Ever True initiative continues to coordinate the work of the entire campus via a roadmap to recovery. We are dedicated to building and sustaining our community’s sense of safety and security and ensuring that students, faculty and staff have the support, tools and programming to help us heal and move forward together.
Sincerely and ever true,
Russell Carey
Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy