More than four years ago, University of Wisconsin student Brittany Zimmermann was murdered in her apartment on Doty Street, leaving the campus and city communities shaken.

While many of the students attending UW at the time of the homicide have since graduated, Zimmermann and her legacy live on.

Zimmermann was 21 years old when a still at-large assailant entered her apartment and killed her during her junior year. Medical reports revealed she died from multiple stab wounds and strangulation.

As part of a three-year-long tradition, the campus community and friends of the Zimmermann family are preparing to come together this weekend to remember her life via the Brittany Zimmermann 5K Run/Walk.

The walk benefits the Madison Area Crime Stoppers, a branch of a national organization which aims to solve and prevent crimes by offering cash rewards for anonymous and confidential tips. Rewards for tips can be up to $1,000 – depending on the impact of the tip on the investigation.

UW Dean of Students Lori Berquam said the annual event came together because so many of the Madison police and members of the community felt compelled to get involved, and they, along with the family, wanted to give back and help keep Zimmermann’s memory alive.

As one of the event’s many participants, Berquam said the run is a great family event.

Last year’s run drew nearly 300 participants, and Crime Stoppers Coordinator Rodney Wilson said he expects an even larger turnout this year. Crime Stoppers is planning on having the third annual run this year this Saturday at 9 a.m.

Following Zimmermann’s death, controversy and confusion surrounded the way Dane County’s 911 Center handled her call. The center received a call from Zimmermann’s cell phone sometime during the incident, but upon answering the call, the dispatcher was met with silence and did not alert the police. The Zimmermann family later followed with a wrongful death lawsuit.

Since the incident, the 911 Center has made several policy changes and implemented a number of new services to improve the center. Specifically, the center has implemented a “When in doubt, dispatch” policy.

“We track various performance measures to ensure we’re continuously striving for excellence, … including tracking all abandoned calls to ensure that all are dealt with in accordance with our policy,” Dane County ENP Director John Dejung said.

The center has adopted a nationally recognized call-taking protocol for law enforcement, and the program is overseen by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch, he added.

The center has also formalized a Support Services staff to oversee training and quality assurance of all 911 calls. The 911 response time has improved, as 95 percent of 911 calls are answered in 15 seconds or less, Dejung said.

The center has also lengthened the time the dispatcher spends on the line with each citizen to ensure protocol is completely followed.

“Any changes that can help save a life – though it didn’t help Brittany – can give us some comfort,” Brittany Zimmermann’s mother, Jean, said of the improvements at the call center.

Since the homicide hit campus, UW has worked on several safety-related improvements.

“Brittany’s death reaffirmed a commitment to doing whatever we can to keep students safe. … That’s part of what we want to have as a university value,” Associate Dean of Students Kevin Helmkamp said.

WiscAlerts, a measure that was in the works prior to Zimmermann’s death, was implemented following her murder. WiscAlerts is a campus-wide text message system designed to provide the campus with information in an emergency.

This, among other safety measures, was intended to improve communication to the campus and inform students of risks, Helmkamp said. He said Zimmermann’s death has had  significant emotional and psychological impacts on the campus, making it all the more important measures be put in place to prevent further tragedies from striking the campus.

“One of the things I would say about university campuses, and particularly true about this place, is they are typically places of great hope, and to have someone who by all accounts exhibited the hope for the future universities pride themselves on taken so violently was a real shock to the campus,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Zimmermann family also held the Brittany Zimmermann Memorial Microchip Clinic to honor their daughter. Her parents, Kevin and Jean Zimmermann, donated money to the Portage County Humane Society for homeless animals.

Zimmermann’s love for animals motivated their involvement with the Humane Society, Jean said. She had three cats she shared with Jordan Gonnering, her fianc? at the time of her death.

One of the cats, Felix, Brittany adopted from the humane society with a microchip. After Brittany’s death, Gonnering gave their cats to the Zimmermann family.

“He wanted us to have a part of Brittany,” Jean said.

Among their many efforts to keep their daughter’s memory alive, the Zimmermann family also established the Brittany Zimmermann Scholarship Fund.

Jean Zimmermann said they wanted to help her memory live on, and the scholarship seemed to be a good way to do so.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a UW student planning to go into the medical field from Marshfield, Wis., Zimmermann’s hometown.

Jean Zimmermann said her daughter valued education and cared about helping people be better human beings. Her major was medical microbiology and immunology.

Zimmermann worked since she was 16 years old. During the summer before beginning her academic career, she worked three jobs so she could afford to go to college.

As an incoming UW student, she had enough credits from high school for sophomore status, Jean added.

“She honestly tried her best – she was a very bright and giving student; I want people to know hard work goes a long way,” she said.

Zimmermann’s case still remains active. Though not all the information has been made available to the public or the Zimmermann family, developments in the case continue.

Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said MPD currently has detectives assigned to the case and is prepared to add resources to the investigation if needed.

The Zimmermann family has not let go of hope yet, either.

“We have to hope any new information, big or small, will ultimately contribute to finding her killer,” Jean Zimmermann said. “I don’t know if [he or she] will ever tell us why [he or she] did it – we don’t know why anyone would do something like that.”

Jean Zimmermann said while her daughter’s killer is still unknown, she is thankful people are still talking about her and keeping her memory alive.

According to DeSpain, in addition to the Crime Stoppers reward, the private reward fund being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Zimmermann’s death now sits at $14,000 and continues to grow.

“We are still confident that we will find Brittany’s killer and bring justice for her and her family,” DeSpain said.

Anyone with information regarding Zimmerman’s death should contact the Madison Area Crime Stoppers.