MIT to Unveil Permanent Memorial for Sean Collier Wednesday

By LIZ TAURASI (Patch Staff)

Image: An artist’s rendering of the Collier Memorial on the MIT news website.

A permanent memorial honoring Wilmington native and MIT Police Officer Sean Collier will be unveiled today at MIT .

The memorial is on the MIT campus at the intersection of Vassar and Main Streets in Cambridge. Prior to the permanent memorial installation, a temporary memorial of flowers and flags sat at that location since October 2013.

The memorial was conceived and designed by MIT professor and Department of Architecture head J. Meejin Yoon, according to an article on the MIT website. Constructed of solid granite in the shape of an open hand, the memorial embodies strength and encompasses a sheltered space for reflection and contemplation at its center. It’s constructed from 32 solid granite blocks locked together like pieces of a puzzle. The memorial is shaped like an open hand unified by a central keystone.

“Its physical configuration embodies the strength and connectedness of ‘Collier Strong’ and represents the community’s shared values and common purpose,” MIT says on its website.

Collier was killed four days after the Boston Marathon bombings when he was ambushed in his police cruiser by two men who were the center of the manhunt that terrorized the state and the region, killing four and injuring more than 170 others. He was posthumously declared a member of the Somerville Police Department.

The public dedication ceremony takes place on Wednesday, April 29 beginning at noon on the North Court near the site of the memorial. MIT says speakers at the dedication will include: MIT President L. Rafael Reif, the Honorable David Maher, mayor of Cambridge; Israel Ruiz, MIT’s executive vice president and treasurer; John DiFava, chief of MIT Police and director of campus services.