SEPTEMBER 3, 1998-vol30n2: North Campus child care center to open

VOLUME 30, NUMBER 2 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1998

North Campus child care center to open

By ELLEN GOLDBAUM
News Services Editor

Next Tuesday, when the new North Campus Site of the University at Buffalo Child Care Center officially opens for business, nearly 50 children and their families will be walking through its doors.

That's just about capacity for the new, prefabricated, 3,700-square-foot building located at 100 St. Rita's Lane near Baird Point.

The opening comes four years after a blue-ribbon panel concluded that child-care services were very much in demand on the North Campus, and just two years after the President's Task Force on Women at UB described a center on the North Campus as "a very pressing need."

"Thirty-thousand people study or work on the North Campus," said Tamar Meyer, director of UB's South Campus child care center, who is overseeing the new site. "You cannot study or work comfortably unless you feel that your children are in good hands," she said.

The new facility still has several open slots, and is accepting names for waiting lists. Faculty, staff and students are welcome to visit the North Campus center anytime this week from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Meyer, who has a doctorate in early childhood education, pointed out that the new site will be operated with a philosophy focused on developmentally appropriate activities, as is the South Campus site. Last year, the Child Care Coalition of the Niagara Frontier selected the South Campus center as the best in Western New York.

According to Meyer, the UB administration has been "absolutely phenomenal," in moving the project along so quickly. She said that Bernice Noble, professor of microbiology and chair of the women's task force, was responsible for putting the issue "on the front burner."

Meyer added that University Facilities was extremely responsive to concerns about early child care and educational needs. In particular, she said, "big kudos " go to Dennis Black, vice president of student affairs, and Nancy Michalko, associate vice president for university development and chair of a Child Care Center board of directors ad hoc committee on the new site.

According to Michalko, the child care center will bring an important new facet to life on the North Campus. "University life revolves around community, for students, faculty and staff," she said, "but it's difficult to have a sense of community when your children can't be near you. Now, families can put to rest their concern that their children have to be somewhere else.

"We wanted our students on the North Campus to be able to get off the shuttle bus if they don't have a car, and have access to quality day care," Michalko said.

Tuition is on a sliding scale according to income; low-income student families are eligible for subsidies from a SUNY block grant.

Program coordinator for both sites is Nancy Wallace, who has her doctorate in early childhood education and special education. Twelve new staff members have been hired.

The new building is a temporary structure; the university has begun exploring funding possibilities for a permanent site, which is expected to house 150 children and be completed within five years. Plans are underway to renovate the South Campus center within the next five to 10 years.

The center has two infant rooms, for children from ages 6 weeks to 18 months; two toddler rooms, serving children ages 18 months to 3 years, and one-preschool room for children 3-5 years of age. A playground will be in place later this semester.

Licensed by the state Department of Children and Family Services, the North Campus center was developed jointly by the UB Child Care Center and the university. Its operating costs are funded by tuition and grants, primarily from SUNY Central Administration and New York State Labor/Management; the university covers rent, utilities and maintenance.

For applications, call 829-2226.