Since its establishment in 1941, the Child Development Lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has relied on the strong vision and leadership of its directors. Now, Hannah Kye will lead the CDL into the future. 

Kye comes to the role of CDL director after serving on the faculty at Columbia University in its Department of Curriculum and Teaching and in Rowan University’s Department of Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education. Since 2011, the award-winning professor has taught courses and conducted federally-funded research in early childhood education and family-friendly campus initiatives. She has also served as a global advisor for Sesame Workshop and a research advisor for the National Center for Family Math. In addition to directing the CDL, Kye joins the Department of Human Development and Family Studies in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences as a clinical associate professor.

“As a faculty member, it’s exciting to support undergraduate and graduate students’ experiential learning in our classrooms. I started my career as a teacher, and it’s inspiring to work alongside the exemplary educators in the CDL. The CDL is a place where researchers, university students, educators, and families can listen to and learn from the children. Helping people do that better is my passion,” Kye said.

A critical part of the college and the campus community, the CDL supports teaching, research, outreach, and engagement activities, while also providing high-quality care and education to enrolled children. At the CDL, a variety of classes invite students to learn more about child behavior in real-time within its classrooms and observation booths, contributing to independent study projects, research, and graduate and faculty studies.

According to Kye, the CDL will build on the legacy of university laboratory schools: to facilitate research on child development, to demonstrate innovative teaching, and to inspire positive change through outreach. As Kye begins her new position as director, she is excited to help develop and contribute to the CDL’s culture of curiosity, diversity, and inclusion in early childhood education.

“The CDL is an excellent model of the child-centered approach that I advocate for in my research and teaching. I worked with university laboratory schools throughout my career and felt compelled by their unique role on campus. As a researcher, I understand the needs of faculty conducting studies in our lab,” Kye said. 

Kye succeeds HDFS professor emeritus Brent McBride, who served as CDL director for the last 22 years.

“Dr. McBride not only had far-reaching impacts on CDL programming and accreditation, he oversaw the design and construction of the Early Childhood Development Lab building and shepherded the CDL through the pandemic. We are so grateful to him for his decades of dedicated leadership and wish him well in his retirement,” said HDFS head Ramona Oswald. “But we couldn’t be more excited for Dr. Kye to lead us into the future. Her approach to inclusive education is exactly what the CDL needs in this critical time.”  

To learn more about the Child Development Laboratory and its team, visit the CDL website. The CDL is looking to expand and update its facilities to serve future generations of students and researchers.  Contributions can be made online to the “Child Development Laboratory Fund.” Contact the Office of Advancement at 217-333-9355 or acesadvancement@illinois.edu to discuss naming and other giving opportunities to support the CDL’s mission.