The Campus Chronicle
Vol. XVII, Issue 20
for the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
February 8, 2002

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Parents' pleas can't stop child care closing

by Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff

Interim Chancellor Marcellette G. Williams (left) listens as assistant professor Margaret Gebhard makes a case for preserving child care services on campus at a Feb. 1 meeting. (Stan Sherer photo)

Alarmed by the administration's plans to shut down child care services, about 55 parents and union leaders raised their concerns with interim Chancellor Marcellette G. Williams during a Feb. 1 meeting in the Lincoln Campus Center.

     UCC funding for its full-time day care program runs out at the end of the academic year. A flex-care program that largely serves graduate students and is part of the contract negotiated with the graduate student union, will keep two classrooms open until the contract expires in 2004. Faculty, staff, and both graduate and undergraduate students were among the parents at the meeting.

     "Child care is an emotionally charged topic," Williams told the group. Although her son is in his late 20s, she said, she still recalls vividly the decisions she made about his child care. Had such a closing happened to a program her son was in "it would have been some time...before anything would have made me feel better."

     Facilitated by ombudsperson Catharine Porter, the hour and a half meeting included a statement by Williams explaining the campus's need to save what will eventually amount to $627,000 annually by closing the program. Savings for the coming fiscal year will amount to more than $300,000.

     "Most of the budget of this campus is in people," Williams said. "People are in programs."

     Because the changes in the University's budget from the state came mid-year, she said, "decisions had to be made more quickly than we anticipated that they would need to be. That process will continue for the rest of the year."

     Williams said some programs are "still under review" because they require longer study.

     Many of the assembled appeared to hope that the decision to close UCC was still negotiable. Several faculty, who said they represented approximately 100 of their campus peers, jointly presented data indicating that six faculty parents of children at UCC whose accomplishments include - in addition to five teaching award nominations and 85 refereed journal articles - bringing in nearly $3 million in grant monies last year.

     The faculty argued that UCC is central to the mission of the University because it allows parenting faculty to be productive, acts as a recruiting tool for faculty, and provides educational opportunities for students researching children or seeking experience working with them. The group also argued that the cut unfairly "targets junior faculty and women."

     Assistant professor of Exercise Science Barry Braun cited a study that said child care can be important to the career development of pre-tenure faculty. Stephanie Tryce, a lecturer in Sport Studies, read e-mail testimonials for UCC that the group of young faculty received when they began surveying the faculty at large. And assistant professor of Art Max Page cited a recent campus study that praised UCC and called for its enhancement.

     "We're here in a spirit of collaborative problem-solving," said Meg Gebhard, assistant professor of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies.

     When the faculty asked for a meeting with Williams this week, she told them she could not agree to that, saying that every cut has a constituency and that ongoing budget work is underway. She thanked the faculty for their research on the impact of the closing and encouraged them to pass it to Maryanne Gallagher, director of UCC.

     Although the decision to cut the budget of UCC remains firm, Gallagher and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life Javier Cevallos later said that if the program can find ways to pay for itself, the administration would be willing to consider retaining the service in some form.

     "The dollar amount is the dollar amount," said Gallagher of the remaining budget for flex care through FY04. "We're looking at ways to stretch dollars to keep more classrooms open." Outside funding, acquired through grants and fund-raising, might be a way to avoid the closure, she said.

     "We're willing to consider [an alternative], as long as we come up with a model that makes sense," Cevallos said.

 
    
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