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Marilyn Reed Lucia, MD
UC San Francisco has been central to the establishment of child care facilities across the UC system, thanks to the advocacy of Marilyn Reed Lucia, MD, a long-time member of the UCSF Committee on Family Services. Dr. Lucia, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, who passed away in 2016, is recognized for her decades-long work to provide and improve child care at UCSF and across the state system.
After graduating from the UCSF School of Medicine in 1956, Dr. Lucia became interested in campus child care due to her own pressing child care needs. When she entered medical school, she had two toddlers in hand and she had two more children during her residency in child and community psychiatry.
In 1964, Dr. Lucia met with UCSF Vice-Chancellor Willard Flemming about creating campus child care. With his encouragement, she worked with the California Legislature to draft Assembly Bill 687, which was passed in 1968 and authorized the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the California State Colleges to establish and maintain children’s centers on their respective campuses. A year later, she initiated Assembly Bill 2261 which authorized funds for the construction and support of a Children’s Center at UCSF. These bills paved the way for the eventual establishment of children’s centers on all CSU and UC campuses.
UCSF opened its first Children's Center in 1978. To honor Dr. Lucia's efforts, this facility was named UCSF Marilyn Reed Lucia Child Care Study Center on October 8, 1986, Dr. Lucia's birthday. The center has been a vital resource for students, staff, faculty and the community at large for decades.
UCSF now has four licensed child care centers, all operated by Bright Horizons Family Solutions. The centers collectively serve children from two months to five-years-old. The programs facilitate many areas of growth in young children, from social skills to problem-solving skills, all in a supportive and nurturing environment.
UCSF has been central to the establishment of child care centers in the UC system, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Marilyn Reed Lucia.
