Campus Learning Center celebrates 50 years

Balloons, picture boards and sweet treats will mark a milestone this fall as the Campus Learning Center (CLC) celebrates its 50th anniversary on Sept. 27 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. 

For half a century, the Center has been a second home to children and teachers. 

But the anniversary isn’t just about looking back on five decades of childcare. It’s about honoring a program that has shaped the lives of families, staff and students across campus. 

Founded in 1974, the CLC began as a small organization as a way to give students and professors reliable childcare while on campus. 

Today, it remains deeply connected to Augustana, helping the children of students and staff while offering experience for education majors and work-study students.

“This is such a special place,” said Amy Cisar, head teacher of toddlers, who has worked at the Center for five years. “CLC is a blessing: the families, the Augustana students and especially the kids. It’s the best job ever.”

The celebration, planned by Director of Campus Learning Center Judy Knadel and other CLC staff, will include a float in the Viking Days parade followed by an open house at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. 

Families from the past have been invited back to enjoy cake, photo displays dating back decades and even balloon animals and toys for the kids. 

“I’m most excited to see people I know,” Knadel said. “Some of the children I taught are now adults, graduates, even parents themselves.”

Over the years, the CLC has grown from a few rooms in a small house near campus to its current building where it holds about 35 children at a time. While the Center keeps a lower number of children, staff say that intimacy is what makes it unique. 

With as many as five or six Augustana students in a room at once, children receive more one-on-one attention than at many other daycares, and student workers get experience working directly with kids. 

Freshman Vanessa Randle, who works at the Center, said, “Working there so far has helped me confirm that my future career goals involve working with children. 

Randle added, “I most enjoy working with the children. I love forming a bond with not only them but also the employees.” 

Knadel and Cisar say the CLC’s impact goes both ways. Children leave with reading skills, sign language and even counting skills that prepare them for kindergarten, while students and staff carry lifelong lessons of their own. 

Cisar said even through challenges, staff say the love and joy in the classroom never fades. 

“It’s amazing to see the world through children’s eyes,” Cisar said. “The students who work here learn patience, empathy and how capable children really are. It’s an experience that helps them whether they go on to be teachers, nurses or parents themselves.”

Looking ahead, Knadel hopes that the Campus Learning Center will remain just as it is: small, personal and as connected to Augustana as it is now. 

“We don’t want to lose the intimacy,” Knadel said. “Here, every child belongs, and every student worker knows them by name.”

For the CLC staff, that’s the heart of the celebration — not just 50 years of childcare, but 50 years of community.