October 17, 2016
Bradley Umpleby
The Student Government Association senate gave two announcements and provided committee reports at their weekly meeting on Oct. 13.
Sentwali Bakari, vice chancellor for Student Success, thanked the senate for their inclusion at the meeting.
“Thank you for inviting me to your meeting tonight. I am really honored to have this position, and I want you guys to know that I hope to serve as your advocate,” said Bakari.
Bakari started as vice chancellor on October 3.
Bakari worked for previous universities prior to UCCS, serving nine years as the student government adviser at Drake University.
“I have always found student government to be the pulse of campus life. They are aware of all the issues going on, and you guys take your roles very seriously at representing the interests of all students at UCCS,” said Bakari.
Becoming familiar with the campus culture and understanding student issues are Bakari’s main priorities this semester.
Bakari said that if needed, he is available to SGA to offer advice during his time as vice chancellor.
“I have worked with students my whole career, and that’s not changing here. At any time you want me to be aware of what’s going on, or ask me to respond to something that’s happening on campus, I will do that,” said Bakari.
Ida Bauer, director of the Family Development Center also spoke at the meeting.
According to Bauer, 65 percent of all children enrolled in the development center have a parent who is a UCCS student. About 15 percent of children have parents who are UCCS staff, while remainder have parents who are community members.
When Bauer started at the development center 18 years ago, there were no child care subsidies for students. Bauer, along with the program director, started finding ways to assist students with child care fees.
Regular community members pay a substantially higher rate, which decreases the fee for students.
The Family Development Center receives a four-year cycle grant of $106,000 from Child Care Access Means Parents in School. This is the grant’s third year.
The development center also receives $45,000 from parking tickets issued by Parking and Transportation Services and the UCCS Bookstore. This money goes to scholarships for students.
Approximately 32-55 percent of the center’s money goes to students. The remainder is dedicated to a conference each year that costs $1,500.
“Child care is sometimes more than the cost of tuition; the reason for that is the cost of providing child care is expensive,” said Bauer.
The program has proven to show a 68-78 percent reduction in challenging behaviors in children, according to Bauer.