Brown University is still reeling from a shooting that took place on campus, disrupting a quiet Saturday afternoon for students preparing for their finals. A shooting that killed two students and left nine more injured has left one of the nation’s elite academic communities in shock.
While authorities work to rebuild what happened in the Barus & Holley building, questions continue to abound about the shooting victims, the shooter, and whether or not a person from that professor’s class who is still on faculty could be a potential target.
What Happened at Brown University
This incident occurred at approximately 4:00 p.m. in a first-floor classroom that held a review session for an economics class. A group of students was attending the review session for an upcoming exam when a shooter entered the room and fired his weapon after yelling something that witnesses could not understand.
It is still unknown how the shooter gained access into the room, but it is confirmed that the building was open, yet the classrooms could only be accessed with a badge for the exams.
Who is Rachel Friedberg?
Rachel Friedberg is a senior economics faculty member who has been teaching at Brown since 1992. She is an immigration economist with a reputation for a lengthy academic tenure, teaching awards, as well as work with various research and cultural institutions on campus. It should be noted that despite the fact that the review session was for her class, it was being led by her teaching assistant at the time of the attack.
Rachel Friedberg Education
Rachel Friedberg earned a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993 and a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1986.
Rachel Friedberg Career
Rachel Friedberg is a longtime Teaching Professor of Economics at Brown University, where she has taught since 1992. Her work focuses on immigration and labor markets, and she is affiliated with the university’s Judaic Studies program and Population Studies and Training Center. Over the years, she has published widely cited research and earned recognition for her teaching and academic contributions.
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Was She a Target in the Shooting?
At this point, no evidence has been unearthed that suggests Friedberg was the intended target of the attack. While it is true that her association with the classroom sparked initial concerns, it should be noted that law enforcement as well as university administrators state that no evidence of any type of personal vendetta between faculty members has yet to be discovered. Friedberg is one of the witnesses who “saw the shooter walk into the room with bullets firing almost instantly.”
Who are the Victims?
Brown University has confirmed that the students who were killed or injured were students of the institution. No one lost their lives, but seven are still hospitalized with various injuries, with one of the students having been treated and released. One student sustained non-gunshot injuries related to debris.
Who is the Gunman?
A person of interest in his twenties has been taken into custody after a tip led police to a Coventry hotel. He is not a student at Brown. While authorities released video of a masked person in black attire walking away from the area, they do not attribute either motive or suspect identity to that person yet. Currently, law enforcement does not claim to look for any other suspects.
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Publications of Rachel Friedberg
- “The Economic Diversity of Immigration Across the United States” (with D. Jaeger)
Published in World Scientific Handbook of Global Migration, 2024. - “The Effects of Foreign Guest Workers in Israel on the Labor Market Outcomes of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip” (with R. M. Sauer)
Included in World Scientific Handbook of Global Migration, 2024. - “Recent Trends in the Earnings of New Immigrants to the United States” (with G. Borjas)
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper 15406, 2009. - “The Economic Impact of Knowledge Workers from India and China”
Featured in Movement of Global Talent: The Impact of High Skill Labor Flows from India and China, Princeton University, 2007. - “The Impact of Mass Migration on the Israeli Labor Market”
Published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001. - “You Can’t Take It With You? Immigrant Assimilation and the Portability of Human Capital”
Published in Journal of Labor Economics, 2000.
Awards and Fellowships
- NBER / Sloan Foundation, Undergraduate Women in Economics, 2015–2017
- Academic Technology Curricular Development Grant, Brown University, 2013
- Teagle Foundation Grant, Brown Sheridan Center, 2012–2013
- Curricular Development Grant, Brown University, 2012
- William G. McLoughlin Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in the Social Sciences, 2008
- Faculty Fellowship, Brown-Israel Exchange Program, 2005
- Curricular Development Grants, Brown University, 2001 and 2004
- Lady Davis Fellow, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, 1995–1996
- Jacob Javits Graduate Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education, 1988–1992
- Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, U.S. Department of Education, Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier, France, 1986
- Phi Beta Kappa; University of Illinois Bronze Tablet (top 3% of graduating class)
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Disclaimer: Details are based on current official statements and may change as the investigation develops.
