Dear colleagues,

My name is Moon J. Lee, an associate professor at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. I joined WSU in 2001 and have been working hard to be both an excellent teacher and a prolific scholar. My husband and I waited to have a child until I got better established in academia. Now, we have a beautiful daughter who just turned 8 months old. We feel very lucky to have her, regretting that we waited too long to have her.  However, we realized that there are many challenges facing WSU faculty and staff who are or wish to be parents. Perhaps the greatest among them is the lack of sufficient childcare support. This web site is to provide ways in which you can help...

 

Just the Facts!

  1. There are only EIGHT infant-care spots at the WSU Children's Center for the total of more than 4,000 WSU faculty and staff in Pullman.
  2. The WSU Children’s Center is the most expensive facility in Pullman – Approximately $950 per month for an infant.
  3. There is a long waiting list at the WSU Children's Center and many parents chose else where due to its cost.
  4. There are less than 50 licensed spots for infant care in Pullman with no vacancies.
  5. The other licensed care facilities in Pullman and Moscow have similar waiting lists.
  6. As of Fall 2004, 62% of the survey respondents (WSU employees who do not have children) plan on having children in the next 5 years.
  7. As of Fall 2004, 64% of survey respondents (WSU employees who do have children) have children under the age of 12.

Here are some results from our Spring, 2006 campaign effort and online surveys:

1.      604 faculty/staff signed up for the online petitions (Thank you very much for your support!!!!)

2.      199 faculty/staff participated in the online survey and 67 people expressed that they were planning to have a child or children within 5 years.

3.      Also, 86 faculty/staff expressed their anticipated needs for childcare in the survey.

The good news is that President Elson S. Floyd allocated 1 million dollars to address this issue in 2007 and the center added FOUR more infant-care spots for the faculty and staff from the original four spots since then.  The better news is that you have a chance to participate and contribute. Therefore, I am here to ask you for your continuous support for making the WSU campus a more family friendly environment.

There are five quick and easy ways to help me on this:

1.      Sign up for an on-line petition to President Floyd to show your support. [Online Petition]

2.      Share this link with others. Try to share this link with at least 2 others in your department or unit, your spouse, and/or friends.

3.      Write your own commentary on your experiences with the difficulties of raising children as a WSU employee.
[Read Commentaries] Or [Post Your Own Commentary]

4.      Share your ideas on how to address this issue (suggestions). [Share Ideas]

5.      Take a 1 minute survey to help assess childcare needs for WSU employees. [Take Survey]

Thank you very much for your support.

 

 

Please feel free to contact me at moonlee@wsu.edu if you have any comments or suggestions.