University of Lethbridge Faculty Association members voted overwhelmingly this summer in favour of opening childcare services on campus.

ULFA president Steve Ferzacca said the union membership voted in June to approve a one-time contribution of $20,000 towards construction costs of a daycare facility and also voted to accept a mortgage allocation formula under a scenario provided by the university’s administration, in which individual academic staff members would provide a per semester stipend to support the costs of the facility.

ULFA’s contribution will top-up a contribution by students at the university.

“In conjunction with the student contribution, ULFA’s financial contribution is an important step towards the realization of on-campus daycare at the University of Lethbridge,” Ferzacca said. “It’s been really heartwarming to see the response. We’re really proud of this.”

A 2006 survey of the university’s student and employee groups showed that “there was sufficient interest from the survey respondents seeking full-time care to suggest that a 50-100 childcare space facility could be supported on a year round basis.”

Ferzacca said ULFA supports the construction of a multipurpose facility with a capacity of 100 children.

“We propose a facility that will have 50 spaces dedicated to a day school program, and the remaining 50 to before- and after-school care and drop-in care programs,” he said, adding that the association also would like a number of spaces reserved in the facility each year for new faculty to take advantage of.

Ferzacca said now that the association’s vote is in he’s hopeful officials involved in the decision will move forward and commit to daycare at the university.

“It’s now up to the administration to not only recognize the obvious need and desire for daycare on our campus, but also to finally follow through one way or another in regards to this worthy and necessary addition to the welfare of our academic community,” he said.