From Surviving to Thriving: Cultivating Possibilities for Parenting Students in Illinois

• 9:00am – 1:00pm: Resource Fair
  
  Connect with campus and community partners offering resources and information to support parenting students’ academic and personal success.
• 9:00am – 9:15am: Introduction and Welcome
• 9:15am – 10:30am: Panel 1: Parenting Students Experiencing Institutions
  
  This panel presents personal narratives by parenting students alongside scholarly research, both of which explore the systemic barriers that parenting students encounter, and the formal and informal strategies they use to navigate institutional systems.
• 10:45am – 12:00pm: Panel 2: Visions For The Future
  
  How can universities create thriving environments for parenting students? This panel brings together student advocates, leaders from community-based organizations, and researchers working to address the needs of parenting students. Through a discussion of advocacy initiatives,  innovative support programs, and other institutional efforts, panelists will present a vision for fostering equitable campus communities.
• 12:00pm – 1:00pm: Lunch Keynote (TBA)

More details will be added as they are confirmed.

1700 Student Services Building
1200 W. Harrison St. (click for map)
Chicago, IL 60607
(northwest corner of Harrison and Racine)

Via CTA:

• The 7 west-bound (WB) bus stops on Harrison, in front of the building, on the northwest corner of Harrison and Racine.
• The  7 east-bound (EB) bus stops on Harrison, across the street, on the southwest corner of Harrison and Racine.
• The 60 WB bus stops on Racine, across the street, on the southwest corner of Harrison and Racine.
• The 60 EB bus stops on Racine, across the street, on the southeast corner of Harrison and Racine.
• The Blue Line Halsted stop is one block north and three blocks east of the building. (The Racine stop is currently closed.)
  

Via UIC Shuttle:

• The WB Intracampus and Semester Express buses stop on Harrison, in front of the building.
• The EB Semester Express bus stops on Racine, across the street, on the southwest corner of Harrison and Racine.
• The EB Intracampus bus stops on Harrison, across the street, on the southeast corner of Harrison and Racine.

Parking:

• Parking for UIC students, staff, and faculty is available for a fee at the Harrison Street Parking Structure (1100 W. Harrison St.) and Lots 1A & 1B (card access only).
• Parking for visitors is available for a fee at the Harrison Street Parking Structure (1100 W. Harrison St.).

9:00am – 1:00pm: Stop by the Resource Fair throughout the symposium to connect with campus and community partners offering resources and information to support parenting students’ academic and personal success.

UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center and Campus Advocacy Network

WLRC and CAN provide programs, support, and institutional advocacy for pregnant and parenting students, as well as a student-parent listserv and a welcoming space to study and build community.

UIC CCAMPIS/Little Sparks

Little Sparks supports UIC parent-students by providing affordable, high-quality childcare for infants, toddlers, and young children, along with a comprehensive wraparound care system, study-play areas across campus, accessible lactation rooms with counseling support, year-round family events, and fostering a culture of visibility and belonging.

UIC Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health

CoE-MCH builds and strengthens the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) workforce by training graduate and undergraduate public health students and working professionals and advancing MCH science, research, practice, and policy.

UIC Asian American Student Academic Program

AASAP promotes access and acclimation to college, academic achievement, social integration, persistence, and graduation via academic advising, financial management and career exploration programming, mentorship, and one-credit Global Asian Studies seminars.

UIC Dean Of Students – Student Assistance

DoS strives to be the campus leader in fostering a caring and supportive environment where all students matter. Through various offices, including Student Assistance, Community Standards, Student Veterans, and Student Legal Services, they assist students in resolving issues so they can focus on their academic and social development.

UIC FLAME Lab

At the FLAME Lab, the UIC Department of Psychology focuses on cognitive neurodevelopment. Using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods, they study how memory develops and how improvements in memory support other important abilities like reasoning, creativity, and imagination.

UIC Office for Access and Equity

OAE provides resources, accommodations, and policies that support pregnant and parenting UIC students and employees.

UIC TRIO

TRIO’s mission is to increase access to post-secondary education, and increase retention and graduation rates of low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and students with documented disabilities.

UIC Wellness Center

The Wellness Center supports student learning, academic success, and retention by providing services that promote healthy attitudes and behaviors, empower students to make informed choices, and enhance holistic well-being. The Pop-Up Pantry provides parenting students with essential items like diapers, formula, and wipes, along with access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and dairy and other foods to serve their nutritional needs.

Birth to Five Illinois Region 1-A (City of Chicago)

Birth to Five supports the mobilization of communities to build and sustain equitable access to inclusive, high-quality early childhood services for all children and families in Illinois.

Chicago Public Schools – Office for Students with Disabilities/Parent Support Specialist

OSD provides tools, guidance, support, and services necessary to ensure that every student with disabilities receives meaningful, rigorous, and relevant access to grade-level core instruction.

Crown Family YMCA

Crown has an early learning center for children ages six weeks to five years and partners with the UIC Little Sparks Program to assist students with childcare tuition.

Illinois Action for Children

IAC advocates for child care providers, families, and children and supports everyone in creating safe, healthy, and sustainable places in the community for children.

Maryville Crisis Nursery

The Maryville Crisis Nursery provides free short-term respite and crisis childcare for families in distress and/or experiencing a crisis. It protects children ages birth through 6 from abuse, neglect, and/or trauma and seeks to help families on their journey to becoming more stable.

Play Smart Literacy

Play Smart empowers parents and caregivers by bringing awareness to the connection between talk, play, and child development. It also supports adults in developing skills and forming habits that create positive environments rich with opportunities for talk and play.

Rush University Medical Center – Child & Family Connections #11 – Early Intervention

Rush provides free developmental screenings and evaluations for infants or toddlers with possible developmental delays.

• Masking: We ask that all adult attendees wear a mask fully covering their nose and mouth, if it does not interfere with their access needs. Masks continue to help prevent the spread of airborne respiratory illnesses and allow us to be in solidarity with those who are immunocompromised. We welcome and encourage children in attendance to wear a mask as well. We will provide free masks for anyone who may not have one.
• Building Accessibility: The Student Services Building (SSB) is accessible via wheelchair. The entrances have ramps and push buttons.
• To reach Conference Room C: Once inside SSB, visitors should navigate to the east side of the building. A ramp next to the Disability Resource Center leads up to the conference room. SSB has a reception desk near the east entrance at Harrison and Racine where guests can request assistance in finding the conference room.
• Scent: We ask attendees to refrain from wearing perfumes, colognes, or strongly scented personal products as they can trigger serious health issues for those with fragrance allergies. We cannot, however, guarantee a scent-free space.
• Lighting: The conference room has overhead fluorescent lights.
• Sound: All speakers will use microphones to amplify their voices.
• Restrooms: The building has both single-gender and all-gender multi-stall restrooms on the first floor.
  • Visitors can access first-floor restrooms with push-button doors (a men’s restroom and an all-gender restroom) on the west side of the building.
  • Additional single-gender (men’s and women’s) multi-stall restrooms are available up a flight of stairs or an elevator ride to Floor 1 North (right in front of WLRC’s suite). These restrooms have accessible stalls but do not have accessible push-button doors. The women’s restroom has free tampons and pads.
• Zoom: For those joining us via Zoom, we will provide CART live captioning.
• Staff Assistance: Staff and volunteers will be available throughout the event, both in person and on Zoom, to answer questions and provide assistance.
• Questions/Access Requests: Please send any questions or access requests to wlrcsymp@uic.edu or (312) 413-1025.

We thank the following UIC units, programs, and committees for their generous partnership on the symposium:

• Little Sparks Program
• Center for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health
• Life Scholars
• Office of Student Success and Belonging
• African American Academic Network
• Office for Access and Equity
• Student Affairs
• College of Education
• Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Women