More adults than kids crowded the classrooms of UF's new Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center on Tuesday night.
The center, which opened its doors on Jan. 5, is the second of its kind on UF's campus and offers child care for children up to 5 years old.
About 35 people gathered on the ground floor of the Human Development Center at UF's Health Science Center to officially celebrate the center's opening.
Several UF administrators and staff watched as the new facility's directors, Pamela Pallas and Lisa Roberts, cut an orange and blue paper-chain ribbon made by children at the center to officiate its opening.
After the ceremony, visitors snacked on fresh fruit, shrimp and cheese as they toured the new classrooms and their accompanying observatory rooms.
"The need for child care here is significant," said Kyle Cavanaugh, senior vice president for administration at UF, in a speech at the ceremony.
Cavanaugh said the facility went beyond just child care, offering a place for recruitment and retention of staff and students at the Health Science Center.
He said unlike the Baby Gator Center on Village Drive, parents must be associated with the College of Medicine or the College of Public Health and Health Professions in order to enroll their children in the program at the new center, which is on Newell Drive.
Dr. Kayser Enneking, assistant dean of clinical affairs, said funding for the center was a big issue.
"Most of it came from the group practice funds and didn't cost more than $300,000," Enneking said. "It's very cost-efficient,"
Most faculty in attendance agreed that the benefits of the Baby Gator Center would outweigh the cost.
"We will more than recoup the upfront cost by retaining the best people," said Michael Good, interim dean of the UF College of Medicine. "This facility is long overdue on this campus."
