Chief People and Performance Officer Steve Sosland sent this email on May 17, 2017:
Dear Team,
I want to update you on our child development center that we hoped to open this summer, operated by Bright Horizons. Unfortunately, we have had to make the extremely difficult decision to discontinue this partnership for financial reasons. We negotiated for months with Bright Horizons to see if we could work out a more affordable business model, but we were unsuccessful.
We sincerely regret the disruption for all the families who had planned to enroll their children in the center. We notified them immediately, and are actively assisting them in making alternate day care arrangements.
Costs to renovate and operate the facility on Modlin Street are significantly higher than estimated, and our budget is tighter than we expected two years ago when we began planning this venture.
However, we are not giving up on providing on-campus child care. Currently, we are in discussions with two potential child care providers who share Our Values to rent the Modlin Street facility from us. We believe this will be the fastest way to bring child-care services on campus.
Many of you designated the child care center for your Internal Giving Campaign donation in 2015. Please know these funds are being held pending outcome of our efforts, and that the UNTHSC Foundation will directly contact all donors should our efforts prove unsuccessful. If you have questions about your gift, please contact Courtney Leaverton, Courtney.leaverton@unthsc.edu
Again, we sincerely regret this decision. It was not an easy one to make, and we hope to be able to provide on-campus child care in the future. Your patience is greatly appreciated as we seek a workable solution for all.
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Warm regards,
Steve
Steve Sosland
Chief People & Performance Officer