Center for Integrative Education To Be Built in West Hartford with Help from State

Gov. Dannel Malloy was in West Hartford Tuesday morning, touring the existing Gengras Center facility and participating in the University of Saint Joseph's official announcement of building plans for the Center for Integrative Education, which will be supported by a state grant of $4 million.

The first phase of the project is estimated to cost $10 million, and will be a 20,000 state-of-the-art facility "focused on services to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and support to families, caregivers, practitioners, and educators," according to a news release.

The Center for Integrative Education will have dual benefits to the University and the community, President Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid said. It will greatly increase the existing capacity of the Gengras Center's work with educational and vocational training for student with special needs, and will enhance the ability to provide services to the growing population of students on the autism spectrum.

In addition, the Center for Integrative Education will allow the University to expand its work in the fields of autism and applied behavioral analysis. “The University of Saint Joseph is the only university in Connecticut to offer a master’s degree in autism and applied behavioral analysis — and we’ve been helping this community achieve new levels of independence for 50 years,” said Reid.

“Now, through the Center for Integrative Education, we will expand the opportunities for students with special requirements, and align our teacher education programs to ensure that we are providing the best quality training to our future teachers,” she said.

Speaking about the growing incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the population, Gov. Malloy said, "It's time for us as a state, in partnership with many institutions ...  to do everything we can to get ready for what is a large number of people who will be living in our communities and excelling at a higher level than anyone might have imagined just a few years ago."

The state's contribution, Malloy said, will help those individuals "reach the highest possible levels of achievement that they can."

Trustee Skip Gengras, whose uncle is the namesake of the Gengras Center, expressed his thanks to everyone from "the bottom of my heart" for support of such a special place, at a special university.

At the reception which followed the official announcement, Malloy said, "What they're accomplishing is amazing, and I want to help them. Both sides, the students at the Center and the University of Saint Joseph students, learn so much from this."

West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka said he is excited to see the evolution of the University of Saint Joseph. "We've long known what a great resource this is to the town. This is a seal of a approval that transforms it from a West Hartford asset to a state asset."