SUNY Cobleskill is receiving a grant to support a career training program for neurodivergent students.
Key2Employment, a collaboration between KeyBank and SUNY Cobleskill, is designed for students with autism and other neurodiversities.
On Thursday, officials celebrated a new $500,000 grant from KeyBank to create programs in Information Technology, Business Management, and Animal Science. Each track will last for one year.
College President Dr. Marion Terenzio recalled a message from SUNY Cobleskill's 2024 commencement speaker Temple Grandin, a behavioral scientist and leading autism spokesperson. She says all kinds of thinkers are needed in the workforce.
“The Key2Employment program will be that key, literally, that unlocks the door of opportunity for those who wish to follow Dr. Grandin’s footsteps, which is to have their chance to learn at a higher education institution on their terms and cultivate their capacities and talents,” Terenzio said.
Tamika Otis, Key’s Community Relations Officer and Vice President for Corporate Responsibility, says this program is personal for her.
“I have nephews who are on the autism spectrum, and I've seen the struggle that my sister has had in getting them resources and support and to have such a large university have such intention for this community is just really inspiring, and to be a part of that is wonderful to us,” Otis said.
New York state Assemblyman Chris Tague, a Republican from the 102nd district, is a former Schoharie County ARC board member. He applauds the collaboration between the college and Key.
“I see folks we consider in our world as our most vulnerable, and they deserve every opportunity that everybody else does. And I have seen success stories through the A R C and through the programming of SUNY Cobleskill, where people are out there doing what they love,” Tague said.
Officials promoted the programs as bolstering diversity, equity, and inclusion.
DEI has drawn ire from top national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who has ordered all such federal programs to be defunded and their staffers put on leave.
Tague says he doesn’t think SUNY Cobleskill’s program is going to face the same pressure.
“I think it's completely different. This has nothing to do with that. That, at least- that's my opinion” Tague said.
State Senator Peter Oberracker, a fellow Republican from the 51st district, agrees.
“Does the end justify the means? And in this case, I would say it does so,” Oberracker said.
Oberracker hopes other colleges follow Cobleskill’s lead.
“We need to get more of these out there. These types of programs are our blueprint, and as a legislator who has the most SUNYs of any legislator in New York, I'd like to see us do more of this,” Oberracker said.
