Hospitality professor Rhonda Montgomery's 30-year career at 黑料网 has entailed a lot of committee work. She鈥檚 been chair of the Faculty Senate (twice) and myriad strategic planning committees, hiring committees, and working groups.
So she long ago developed the skills for handling conflicting-yet-equally-valid opinions, for finding points of consensus, and for developing plans that put all that talk into action. But when the Faculty Senate called upon her for its latest assignment, 鈥淚 felt terrified,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd then incredibly touched.鈥
She is chair of the Faculty Senate-led Memorial Committee, charged with creating a permanent way to honor the three faculty members killed on Dec. 6, 2023 鈥 professors Jerry Cha-Jan Chang, Patricia Navarro Velez, and Naoko Takemaru.
鈥淭his [memorial] will impact the well-being and healing of every student, every faculty member who was on campus that day,鈥 Montgomery said. 鈥淎s I told my colleagues [on the committee], we鈥檝e published numerous textbooks, we鈥檝e done lots of remarkable research, but this is what鈥檚 going to leave a lasting mark. The fruit of our work will be here for as long as 黑料网 is here. 鈥
The committee began meeting in February, and Montgomery expects its work to be a long-term commitment. 鈥淎ll the logistics aside, we know how important it is to get this right, and that will take time,鈥 Montgomery said.
For context, the design selection phase for the 1 October memorial was completed just last September, nearly six years after the music festival shooting in Las Vegas.
The committee started its efforts to memorialize the professors and promote recovery by selecting a site for a Dec. 6 Memorial Healing Garden adjacent to the Baepler Xeric Garden and across from Hospitality Hall. The committee is working with Planning & Construction team to work out specifics, including construction details and a timeline.
At the same time, the committee began surveying existing memorials around the world and the guiding principles behind creating them. The next step will entail a call for memorial design proposals and then an extensive feedback process before selecting the design.
But one thing the committee is already clear about is the end result they want: a memorial that鈥檚 more than a memorial.
鈥淢uch thought must go into how this will help the community heal,鈥 she said, 鈥淯ltimately we want this to be a place that, when someone is in a difficult situation for whatever reason, they will come here, to our campus, and find solace.
鈥淎nd what I really hope 鈥斺 she started and then paused. 鈥淭his was an attack on the very life and breath of who we are as an open campus, who we are as a public institution 鈥 so what I really hope is that this memorial reminds everyone that no one can defeat a Rebel.鈥
Related: Special Collections & Archives' Preservation Project to Document Dec. 6 Shooting
