Child Care Task Force evaluates campus offerings; President Daniels requests survey participation

President Mitch Daniels recognizes the importance of child care at Purdue. Since his arrival, in part based on input from employees he has met, he has urged that we redouble our efforts to make sure we are meeting the needs of the University community. The Child Care Task Force has worked diligently to evaluate child care resources on campus, toward the end of improving current offerings and capacity.

Actions of the task force to date are a benchmarking survey of peer institutions, a market comparison of community child care centers, a review of the COACHE faculty survey, gathering of input from campus child care centers, a review of Purdue's domestic students on campus with children and a review of Purdue's benefit data on the number of dependents.

The next step is to gather feedback from the University community on current and future child care needs and resources, both on campus and in the community.

A survey will be sent to all faculty and staff on the West Lafayette campus Monday (Feb. 18). Participation is encouraged.

The members of the Child Care Task Force are Keith Cherkauer (co-chair), associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering; Mindy Paulet (co-chair), worklife manager, Vice President for Human Resources; Maricela Alvarado, director, Latino Cultural Center; Nancy Emery, assistant professor of biological sciences and botany and plant pathology; Christine Keller, graduate teaching assistant in nutrition science; Lorraine Kisselburgh, assistant professor of communication;  Christopher Martin, director of business managers; Linda Mason, associate dean of graduate school and professor of entomology; and Catherine Pope, managing director, Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence.