For Jen Thomas-Ahner the day typically begins around 7:00 a.m. She and her husband wake up, shower, dress, and then feed and dress their 15-month-old daughter, Alexis. With precise logistic execution, Thomas-Ahner's husband leaves for work at 7:45, and shortly after Thomas-Ahner takes Alexis to childcare 10 miles from home. She drives another 10 miles to Ohio State University (OSU), and for the next eight hours Thomas-Ahner will leave parenting behind to focus on her research on gender differences in inflammatory responses, as a graduate student in Tatiana Oberyszyn's laboratory in the Department of Pathology.
Alexis spends the day in Columbus with another mother, who cares for several other children, including her own, in her home. On-campus childcare at OSU would make weekday commutes easier, not to mention Alexis would be close by during the day, and she would receive the curriculum and activities that accredited centers such as OSU ...
