UP is renovating a University-owned house to be a campus child care facility
By Hannah Gray
With UP's professors, administration and staff hard at work in the classrooms, behind desks or out-and-about, it is hard to imagine them with real lives - and more importantly, with children. Many of them do have children, though.
After failed past efforts, the University of Portland will finally open a child care facility before fall 2009.
Anissa Rogers, the chair of faculty welfare and professor of social and behavioral sciences, as well as physics professor Tamar More are the leading forces behind the new childcare facility. The effort for a daycare started last summer when a group of faculty got together to write a proposal, which has since turned into a business plan for the facility.
The daycare will be operated by a separate, non-profit company, Vermont Hills Family Life Center, according to Denis Ransmeier, the finance vice president.
The building selected for the daycare facility is located nearby at 5414 N. Willamette Blvd., a current University-owned house. Although faculty and staff will have first priority in the selection process, the facility might benefit students with children as well.
"The more we looked into the options, the more it became viable," Rogers said. "We got a lot of interest, but it just needed a couple of people to hold onto it."
"I am confident this is going to be a good plan," Ransmeier said.
This time around the childcare facility worked well with the people involved, as well as the University.
"The right factors had to come together - the timing, opportunity, openness to the idea," Rogers said, as she humorously emphasized, "and a huge number of babies."
Both Rogers and More also had examples to reference, as well as a survey that showed support for this new daycare facility.
The idea for a daycare facility was attempted in the past but never succeeded.
"The idea of a childcare facility affiliated with UP dates back to 12 or 15 years," said Jim Kuffner, the assistant vice president for the Office of Human Resources and Administration.
Then four or five years ago, another approach to the idea of a childcare center was to occupy a rental house owned by the University, but it never got past the formative stages, Kuffner said.
"We didn't have to reinvent the wheel - only had to modify it," Rogers said about the importance of having examples to reference.
There are still two aspects of the facility that needs to be taken care of. First, the building itself needs to be renovated to make it more child-friendly and handicap accessible. Second, the policy and logistics of the daycare need to be established, according to More.
A Childcare Advisory Board will determine what sort of policy needs to be made when looking at the small logistics, according to Rogers. The board will make small decisions to get it running and will work with Vermont Hills.
In addition to the Childcare Advisory Board, there will be a Parent Advisory Board to delegate parental concerns.
The hardest part about putting the facility together was "finding the fit between the constraints and what's available," More said. They both also recognize that it would have almost been impossible to pursue this alone.
Vermont Hills will operate much like Bon Appétit does. Vermont Hills will rent out the UP house on Willamette Blvd., and will be run by people brought in from the company. It will be a certified family childcare facility limited to 16 children at a time.
The University will rent out the house for a cheaper price than they typically charge for students, and then there will be a four-year period where it will raise, according to Ransmeier.
"I didn't want students to subsidize this, but I wanted to get this going until it developed a reputation with the faculty," Ransmeier said. Ransmeier plans to increase the rent until the lost revenue is replaced.
The particular house was chosen because due to regulations, the childcare center can only use the first floor. There is also a fence in the back, which added to the appeal of a daycare center.
Also, due to zone regulations, someone has to live in the childcare facility. The basement is designated for that, but it is unknown if the inhabitant will be someone through Vermont Hills or UP, according to More and Rogers.
At some point, Rogers and More hope to have students involved, whether through the education, nursing, or even language departments. They hope to have students come in and work with the children.
The facility is for faculty and staff first, but the daycare could open up to students and the north Portland community if there are empty spots. Rogers and More are even looking at financial aid to help students pay for the daycare. Vermont Hills does have some resources to help students, but any aid will not come from University money, according to More.
"Although we will offer competitive cost, it is still expensive," More said about helping students pay for the childcare center.
Overall, Rogers and More think this childcare center will be beneficial. Even though they are starting out small, they hope it will become bigger but not for at least a couple of years.
"This is an important first step - a baby step. Rogers and More kept their eye on the important issues to successfully launch this," Kuffner said. "They made realistic goals and tried to take into account the University's concerns."
Vermont Hills will open up its services for this spring graduation, for faculty and staff and for friends and family of the graduating class.
"I'm really grateful of what the committee has done. I see this as a tremendous benefit. It sends a strong signal that shows support for students, faculty and staff with family," Kuffner said.
