SUU opens Center for Hope on-campus child care facility in repurposed residence of president

Written by Jeff Richards
September 18, 2020

CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah University’s new on-campus child care facility has officially opened its doors.

Sign unveiling for the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Hope, a new on-campus child care facility at Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Located in what was formerly the designated residence for SUU’s president, the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Hope will provide child care and preschool services for children up to 5 years old.

SUU President Scott L. Wyatt and his wife, Kathy, both spoke during the Sept. 11 ribbon-cutting ceremony, thanking all those who made the project possible.

“What was once a residence for a few will now be a place of learning for many,” said Kathy Wyatt, referencing the university’s decision to repurpose the president’s home to serve the needs of students and their children.

Donna Law, executive director of development and government relations at SUU, said in a previous statement from the university that she didn’t know many people who would “put their own convenience and comfort aside to meet the greatest need of a student population.”

“However, this is the case for the Wyatts,” she said, “who have also made a personal gift to the project and have asked our facilities management team to have the Center ready as soon as possible.”

Kathy Wyatt has been instrumental in spearheading the project’s development over the past five years. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, she said the new center will help ease the burden for student-parents struggling with the expense of providing care for their children.

“Thanks to the vision and help from many people, including all of you, this idea has come to fruition,” she said.

She then introduced fellow SUU alumna Alayna Johnson and thanked her for serving diligently on the steering committee and helping make the project happen.

“Though she would never personally benefit from this on campus child care center,” Wyatt said of Johnson, “her passion to help other single mothers have an easier path than she did, helped ignite the spark that put this important project into motion.”

Bonnie Bishop and Anne Leavitt hold a giant pair of scissors during ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Hope, a new on-campus child care facility at Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Johnson, who graduated from SUU in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, said she began her studies as a single mother at age 38 with three children and pregnant with her fourth.

“Day care costs were an overwhelming $550 a month,” she said. “There was no way I could afford this. So once my daughter was born, she came to class with me.”

That daughter, appropriately named Hope, ended up being the reason the facility is now called Center for Hope rather than by its originally intended name: Child and Family Development Center.

“I dare say that this will be the difference between success and failure for parents who are choosing to further their education,” Johnson added.

Just before the ribbon-cutting, young Hope and her mother helped unveil a sign in front of the building, with neither of them knowing beforehand that Hope had been made part of the center’s name.

Following the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, donors, committee members, elected officials and others who’d been involved with the project were invited inside to take tours of the building, which is already operational.

The facility is licensed for 81 children at a time in the child care program and 39 in the preschool program, Scott Wyatt noted during his remarks. Additionally, he said, the center will provide jobs for 23 SUU students, along with practicum opportunities for students who are majoring in education or are studying early child development. 

The facility will help hundreds of people every year, he said, adding that over time, thousands will ultimately benefit by being able to finish their college degrees and “building lives of dignity and independence.”

“This is a center that is long overdue,” he added. “And we’re so proud of everybody and so grateful for everyone that has helped.” 

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Hope is a new on-campus child care facility at Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Also speaking during the event were Gary and Ann Crocker of the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, the project’s principal donor. 

“We sincerely hope that the Sorenson Legacy Foundation gift will enrich the lives of thousands of mothers and their children and empower them to realize their dreams for both themselves and their families,” Ann Crocker said during her remarks. “We are grateful to be a part of this team effort that will generate lives of dignity and purpose for so many.” 

Among those in attendance was Bonnie Bishop, who was the first head teacher at SUU’s preschool laboratory in 1966 before going on to direct the preschool and teach child development courses for 40 years. Scott Wyatt said he was just one year too old to have been in “Miss Bonnie’s” first classes more than a half century ago.

However, another interesting connection was made later as a tour of the center was about to begin when 90-year-old Dixie Leavitt piped up and surprised those in the group by saying he’d taught Bishop when she was in fourth grade. Perhaps better-known in Cedar City for selling insurance, Leavitt started his career briefly as an educator before switching to selling insurance in 1952.

The Sorenson Legacy Foundation Center for Hope is a new on-campus child care facility at Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah, Sept. 11, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Leavitt’s wife, Anne, a distinguished alumna of SUU, was also on hand to tour the facility, which includes a classroom bearing her name on the first floor. The Anne O. Leavitt classroom is designed to have the flexibility to support different age groups as needed, along with providing space for family and community training.

Outside the building are three activity areas totaling about 20,000 square feet of playground space, each area being designed for a specific age range.

The project was made possible by private donations from Sorenson Legacy Foundation, Emma Eccles Jones Foundation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Foundation, Dixie and Anne Leavitt Family Foundation, Eric and Melissa Leavitt, Mark and Jana Leavitt, Dr. Robert and Sydney Nakken, and many other donors. Cedar City Rotary Club also donated books and bookshelves. 

The Hope Childcare Center is located at 302 S. 1100 West, Cedar City. For more information, call the center at 435-865-8364, email [email protected] or visit its website.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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