There’s a room in the Family Food Science building where Fresno State’s tiniest students begin their first school lessons. You might have heard children laughing, or the occasional cry from 3- and 4-year-olds in the preschool class.

Come next fall, babies are expected to replace the preschoolers in a long-awaited expansion of the University’s child care program for faculty and staff. President Joseph I. Castro has approved funding to support the construction and renovation of the classroom into a new infant child care room. Programs for Children, an early care and education program on campus, will also chip in part of the cost.

“Since I arrived on campus in 2013, I have heard from many faculty and staff who expressed the need to have expanded child care options here on campus, particularly for infants,” Castro said. “Having had young children of my own throughout my career, I can fully appreciate the personal and professional benefits of having child care options at one's place of employment.”

Programs for Children, the Huggins Early Education Center and the Kremen School of Education and Human Development have worked with Castro and others over the past three years to find a way to increase child care opportunities.

The University’s child care program began as an effort to help student parents receive subsidized care for their children, said Laura Alamillo, interim dean for the Kremen School. The few remaining slots have been open to faculty and staff. But the need is great, resulting in a long waitlist for the coveted spots over the years.

Now, the group is finalizing the construction costs to turn the preschool classroom into space for about 10 infants. Faculty and staff won’t have to compete with students for the full fee positions.

“We chose that space because we figure it’s central,” Alamillo said. “Any faculty or staff can walk their baby over from any point on campus. It’s really pretty, you have the Peace Garden. There’s so many benefits to being in that area.”

The preschoolers who were in the Family Food Science room will move to a new, innovative classroom, also to be renovated, on the bottom floor of the Kremen building. The new preschool class will teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM.

Construction is expected to begin by early next year to be ready for the first cohort of babies in fall 2019.

“This is going to reinforce the importance of supporting faculty and staff parents on campus,” Alamillo said. “When we recruit, people always ask where they can put their kids. We tell them about our great programs, but then we tell them there are only a few slots and you have to wait. But expanding and making this solely for faculty and staff shows the importance of supporting them.”

For more information, call Programs for Children at 559.278.0225.