Pictured above: New York State Assemblymember John McDonald (top left); daughter of the late Eunice Antonucci, Margaret Kehn; Center for Disability Services President and CEO Gregory Sorrentino; and Maria College President Dr. Thomas J. Gamble at the signing of the Eunice Antonucci Memorial Scholarship.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Erin Clary
Director of Communications
Maria College
518-588-5802
eclary@mariacollege.edu
MAY 31, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Center for Disability Services presents major gift to Maria College
$50K Eunice Antonucci Scholarship to support healthcare education
Albany, NY — On Tuesday, May 31, the Center for Disability Services presented Maria College with a check for $50,000 to endow a scholarship to be named after the late Eunice Antonucci. The scholarship will be used to support healthcare education at the College.
Eunice Antonucci, who was a Registered Nurse at Cohoes Hospital, Chair of the Health Planning Commission for the City of Cohoes and owner and operator of Smiths Restaurant on Remsen Street of Cohoes. Eunice founded the first group home in Cohoes for developmentally disabled consumers. Until her death on May 13, she remained a member of the executive board of the Center for Disability Services.
Center for Disability Services President and CEO Gregory Sorrentino presented the check to Maria College leadership.
“Eunice Antonucci was an individual who spent much of her life helping other people,” said Sorrentino. “Eunice, a leader in her community, and a leader in the field of disability services, used her leadership ability to improve the lives of many people, and inspired so many of us to continue to follow her path of helping others and improving the communities we live and work within. Through this scholarship with Maria College we will continue in perpetuity Eunice’s legacy of helping and improving the lives of others by assisting Center for Disability Services staff members to further their education at Maria College, improve their future opportunities and improve the lives of the individuals we support.”
Maria College President Thomas J. Gamble, PhD, said, “On behalf of Maria College and the Board of Trustees, I want to sincerely thank the Center for Disability Services and the family of Eunice Antonucci for this incredibly generous gift to help support our programs in healthcare. It is our mission at Maria College to graduate students that respect the dignity of all human lives, and Eunice certainly embodied that mission throughout her life.”
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said, “I want to thank the Center for Disability Services and the family of Eunice Antonucci for providing this generous gift to Maria College in support of healthcare education. This scholarship is a recognition of Eunice’s dedicated career in nursing and human services and will allow Maria College to continue their stewardship of excellent health care education in Albany at a time when health care providers are so needed.”
Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, RPh said, “Eunice Antonucci had a long history of generous and far-reaching support for the healthcare community with a special emphasis on people with developmental disabilities. This gift brings the potential of altering the lives of students in our region who want to follow in her footsteps and enter the incredibly important field of nursing. Thank you to the Center for Disability Services and the Antonucci Family for providing this generous scholarship.”
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BACKGROUND:
About Eunice Antonucci: a lifelong resident of Cohoes, she had a long and distinguished career in nursing and human services, with an emphasis on people with developmental disabilities. She earned her R.N. degree at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass. She later became the director of nursing at Cohoes Memorial Hospital and was awarded a B.S. degree in human services. Eunice founded the first group home in Cohoes for developmentally disabled consumers. Until her death, she remained a member of the executive board of the Center for Disability Services. Eunice has been honored in many ways as a person of high commendation for her community interest involvement and accomplishments. She also directed various health and human service programs under five Cohoes mayors, beginning with Citizens Party Mayor Jay McDonald. In 1981, she purchased Smith’s Restaurant on Remsen Street in Cohoes and ran it with her daughter until 2008. She had been an active member of Holy Trinity Parish in Cohoes and the Cohoes/Waterford Elks Lodge. She would often say “I’ve never been bored a day in my life.”
About Maria College: Founded in 1958, Maria College is one of 17 colleges and universities in the United States sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The private, co-educational, Catholic college in Albany serves approximately 800 students in a variety of bachelor degree, associate degree, a master’s degree, and certificate programs including liberal arts, healthcare management, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, and health and occupational sciences. mariacollege.edu
About the Center for Disability Services: For 80 years, the Center for Disability Services has been one of upstate New York’s largest providers of programs and services for individuals who have disabilities. With more than 80 locations throughout 15 counties, we annually provide programs and services to over 12,000 individuals, ranging from infants to senior citizens, and their families. We provide services for over 300 different diagnoses of disabilities included Cerebral Palsy, developmental disabilities, Multiple Sclerosis, Autism Spectrum disorders, epilepsy, spina bifida, TBI and Down syndrome.