photo by: Dmitry Martirosov/Journal-World

The Hilltop Child Development Center at the University of Kansas is seen on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026.

Story updated at 5:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5

University of Kansas Chancellor Doug Girod on Friday confirmed that Hilltop Child Development Center will close at the end of the month. But he also indicated that plans to tear down the center’s main building appear unlikely — news that brought relief for community members Monday, even though some had objections to the work group created to assist affected families.

Girod revealed the news as part of a message to Provost Arash Mafi, where he asked the provost to form a work group to address the closure. In a separate letter, also on Friday, Girod said that KU is not currently considering plans to convert Hilltop’s main campus on Ousdahl Road into something else.

“The University has no plans to utilize the Hilltop building for other purposes … and will preserve the facility while the potential for a new operator is explored,” Girod said in response to Rep. Suzanne Wikle, D-Lawrence, who last week authored a letter asking the chancellor not to demolish or alter Hilltop’s main campus for at least 18 months.

“Should there be any future request to the Kansas Board of Regents to raze, convey, or lease the building, KU will notify you, and the signatories of your September 29, 2026 letter, in advance,” Girod added.

Girod’s remarks come two weeks after Chari Young, Hilltop’s board president, notified parents and staff that the childcare center will shut down on Oct. 30. The news caused an outcry across Lawrence and sent families scrambling for solutions. The outcry reached a new level last week when more than 450 faculty, staff and students at KU, and more than a dozen elected officials across Douglas County signed two letters of support urging Girod and Mafi to “pause” their plans.

Like many current and former Hilltop parents, Wikle worried that once the center closes, KU may proceed with plans to demolish the building. On Monday, she said she was glad with Girod’s response.

She was less excited, however, about the way Girod’s message to form the work group was crafted.

In his message on Friday, Girod said the group will assemble faculty and staff with “relevant expertise” to “recommend assistance for affected KU families and viable short- and long-term childcare solutions.” He said the group will engage the KU community in Lawrence and consult both internal and external experts. It will then submit to Mafi an “actionable” plan with recommendations to assist the families.

In an interview with the Journal-World on Monday, Wikle said what frustrates her was the way the message appears to exclude Hilltop families who are not affiliated with KU.

Girod refers to Hilltop families as “KU families” in the letter. He also makes reference to “the KU Lawrence community” when calling for recommendations for childcare needs.

“We need a solution that is beyond the university boundaries,” Wikle said. “Hilltop was a fantastic resource for the university, but it was also a community resource.”

She said KU needs to be a “good partner” and find solutions for all Hilltop families, not just those that are affiliated with the university.

Elise Higgins, a parent who until recently had a child at Hilltop, said she was glad that the building is not slated to be torn down. But like Wikle, Higgins took issue with the wording of Girod’s message. She called it “shortsighted” and “unreasonable.”

“(The) closure of Hilltop is a community issue,” Higgins told the Journal-World on Monday. “The composition of the work group should reflect that.”