Help Us Save

The UMCDC

breaking news:

university will save the Umcdc

University of Minnesota Child Care Program to Remain Open, Minnesota Public Radio, September 18, 2018

September 18, 2018: Next Steps in Child Care Planning for the TC Campus, Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost



We call on University leadership to immediately halt the planned closure of the University of Minnesota Child Development Center (UMCDC) and commit to the Center’s preservation in a new administrative home.

On this site, you can:

A Critical Service

  • UMCDC is not only a 45-year-old model program, it is the only early childhood education and care facility on campus that serves children aged 3-16 months.
  • University operation of the UMCDC allows it to focus on quality and service to the broader University, not profit. Examples of service include the 495 pediatric-internal medicine residents who have received foundational training in early childhood development at UMCDC over the last 15 years, as well as the 75% of Early Childhood Education majors who complete their practicum hours at UMCDC.
  • UMCDC has expanded in the past when the University supported its efforts to expand in space, doubling the number of children served in 1992. We know that UMCDC can scale if given the opportunity.
  • Learn more about UMCDC on their website.

Join the call

Add your name to those of thousands of faculty, staff, parents, family and community members who value the center and its exceptional work.

Read the letter and sign the petition

About Us

UMCDC Parents Organizing is a group of over 160 parents whose children are attending or on the waiting list at the University of Minnesota Child Development Center. We welcome the support of alumni parents, faculty, staff, UMN alumni, and the early childhood community as we continue to advocate for:

  • A secure, permanent University home for the Child Development Center.
  • The expansion of access to high quality early childhood education on the UMN Twin Cities campus.
  • Further integration of the work of the CDC into the research, teaching, and service missions of UMN.
  • An ongoing commission charged with stewardship of UMN early childhood education and care resources.