On January 22, the Dean of the College of Education + Human Development (CEHD) announced the closure of the University of Minnesota Child Development Center (UMCDC), a 45-year-old, best-in-class institution that serves faculty, staff, and graduate-student families, and serves as a model site for early childhood education in the state of Minnesota. In response to the outcry that followed the closure announcement, Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Hanson is in the process of convening an advisory group to study the issue and provide input on a Request for Proposals (RFP) to consider “new child care options for the Twin Cities campus.”  This omits the obvious option of preserving the current UMCDC.

Closure of UMCDC would displace hundreds of families enrolled or on the waiting list, and exacerbate an already serious shortage of high-quality early childhood education and care for University families, as well as in the broader community. Even with UMCDC in operation, the University of Minnesota ranks near the bottom, compared with its Big 10 peers, in terms of access to on-campus early childhood education and care.

**We advocate:**
--- Preserving the current UMCDC in its present location and resuming normal operations;
--- Ensuring continuity of care, including proactive measures to retain UMCDC’s valuable teaching staff and administration;
--- Devising a facilities plan that can achieve the goals of ICD expansion and UMCDC preservation;
--- Finding a new administrative home for UMCDC within the University;
--- Prioritizing a plan for expanding access to high-quality early childhood education and care on campus.

**IMMEDIATE ACTION to reverse this decision by the University is critical.** Despite what seems like a long window (18 months), stability at UMCDC is at risk. UMCDC will quickly unravel as high-quality staff leave and cannot be replaced, parents seek secure space elsewhere, and new families decline to enroll in a closing institution.

In the linked memo, we present evidence for the many ways UMCDC contributes to the University and surrounding community, including:
--- UMCDC is a model program for early childhood education in Minnesota;
--- UMCDC serves the research and teaching excellence mission of the University;
--- UMCDC’s announced closure is a negative signal of workplace climate for working families at the University;
--- UMCDC’s announced closure undermines the University’s ability to recruit and retain women;
--- Closure of UMCDC would further exacerbate a major shortage of high-quality early childhood education and care in the Twin Cities.

**Please show your support for UMCDC and University families by signing this letter and forwarding it to your contacts.**

Link to memo: http://bit.ly/umcdcpreservationmemo

This letter, with signatures, will be delivered to President Eric Kaler, Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Hanson, Senior Vice President for Finance and Operations Brian Burnett, Dean & Professor Jean Quam (College of Education + Human Development), and the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota.