"I know our campus has been ready to put into action to special space on our campus to memorialize those who we lost on that tragic day, Feb. 13, two years ago, but also to to be a place where we can support those other victims and all those who were in some way affected by this," Guskiewicz said. 

Plans for a memorial on campus have been in deliberation since the fall of 2023. In the spring of 2024, the Budget & Finance committee held multiple public surveys to define the memorial’s purpose before accepting memorial designs in July of the same year. Finalists were decided by the committee in September. 

In March, the committee proposed three potential memorial designs for community feedback via another survey. Responses were accepted until March 31.

Over 5,000 people participated in defining the purpose of the memorial, the memorial’s location and desired features, said Judith Stoddart, the Vice Provost for University Arts and Collections and member of the Budget & Finance committee. 

The approved design will replace the existing fountain in the Old Horticulture Gardens on campus and a changed landscape to accommodate the memorial. The design was listed as ‘proposal one’ on the survey shared by the committee in March and was designed by artists Carlos Portillo and Jessica Guinto.

The memorial will include a black granite and white marble reflective pond with an image of the surrounding campus in the water. Surrounding the pond, three benches will be installed on a circular path to pay homage to the three students who died. Additional flowers will be planted and will change with the season. 

The goal of the space is to “provide a place for people, both to come to experience it individually, but also to gather in groups to remember those who were lost and impacted on the day,” Stoddart said. 

With the motion now approved, the artists behind the project will come to campus in order to begin the construction process. 

Construction will cost $3.2 million, according to the meeting agenda. The Spartan Strong fund will provide $300,000 to the project and the remaining amount will be covered by capital reserves. Maintenance of the fountain and the landscape will cost $22,500.

The board also approved personnel actions for two tenured professors, the new Vice President for Student Affairs James Hintz and the appointment of plant biology professor Federica Brandizzi as a John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor. All appointments were approved unanimously.