Lisa Shipley was a new mother and a new faculty member in January 1997. She had been told that childcare would be difficult to arrange for her son Ben — so she applied at the WSU Children’s Center before he was born. That wasn’t soon enough.
“There was no space for my son, and we were put on the waiting list,” said Shipley, associate professor in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences. “We were still on the waiting list when we gave up three years later and enrolled him in Moscow Day School.”
“The experience was very frustrating and disappointing,” she continued. “Universities should provide for their faculty, and universities need childcare if they want women faculty members.”
Shipley’s frustrations, and the concerns of dozens of other parents seeking care for their very young children, are now addressed in a proposal advanced by the Faculty Senate Childcare Committee.
Critical need
Charles Pezeshki, chair-elect of the Faculty Senate, also chairs this committee. He explained that the committee has discovered a huge unmet need for childcare for infants (beginning at about six weeks) and toddlers (to age 3) on the Pullman campus.
Here are some of the statistics:
* There are four infant-care spots available at the WSU Children’s Center for the more than 4,000 WSU faculty and staff in Pullman.
* There is a waiting list of some 65 for infants, 29 for toddlers and 25 for pre-school at the WSU Children’s Center.
* There are 39 licensed spots for infant care in Pullman with no vacancies.
* The other licensed care facilities in Pullman and Moscow have similar waiting lists.
* As of fall 2004, 62 percent of respondents to a survey (WSU employees who do not have children) plan on having children in the next 5 years.
* As of fall 2004, 64 percent of survey respondents (WSU employees who do have children) have children under the age of 12.
Day care and research
“It’s just nuts,” Pezeshki said. “Now we have everyone running around seeking childcare and sabotaging their careers. It’s heartbreaking that we have taken so long to address this problem. But now we have formed a task force and created our proposal, and we’re moving it forward.”
The Early Childhood Education and Care Task Force proposes the creation of a multipurpose facility that would not only provide childcare services for faculty, staff and students with very young children, but also offer research opportunities in the study of infant behavior and training for future educators.
This proposed facility would resemble the existing Child Development Laboratory at the Children’s Center on the Pullman campus. This lab provides childcare for preschoolers (aged 3 to 5) while also providing training for future teachers and research opportunities for faculty.
Proposal lauded
The task force proposal is a “great idea,” according to Brenda Boyd, associate professor in the Department of Human Development.
“There is a real need for training for teachers of infants,” Boyd said. “We know we need care for those younger children, and the research opportunities are an added value.”
The proposal is a ground-breaking concept, Boyd added. “I am not aware of any facility serving infants and toddlers that combines these three elements and is housed at any university. This is very exciting. I know our department would be interested in being involved in both the research and training aspects.”
The task-force proposal also has the support of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, according to Jill Griffin, chair of the commission and assistant director of both the Center for Integrated Biotechnology and the Center for Reproductive Biology.
“The commission spent the last few years looking at the issues of recruitment and retention of women faculty. We realized that we needed this support mechanism,” Griffin said. “We have a great childcare facility on campus, but we need to provide more for infant and toddler care. This is a very exciting proposal that we fully support.”
In addition, Griffin noted, the WSU Council on Advancement of Women came to a similar conclusion and has recommended this proposal as well.
Administration supportive
To advance their proposal, Pezeshki said the committee has begun an “open and positive” campaign to gather support from faculty and staff. A website has been created (www.wsu.edu/~moonlee/childcare/). An online petition supporting the proposal has been signed by about 600 faculty and staff. The website also provides the opportunity to respond to a survey of need and to write comments and suggestions.
On May 2, Pezeshki reported that the proposal passed its first serious test: a presentation before the university administration at the Pullman Executive Council.
“They were very supportive,” he said. “We will continue at a meeting with the president in June. We’re moving forward and expect this to succeed.”