Syracuse University College of Law alumnus and disability law attorney Howard Olinsky announced Tuesday that he is donating $100,000 to the Burton Blatt Institute at SU. The donation will be used to create the Olinsky Law Group BBI fellowship.

Olinsky’s donation will go toward educating future leaders, said Anthony Adornato, director of communications at BBI. One way BBI does this is by hiring fellows during each academic school year and summer. The fellows serve as research assistants.

Olinsky said the Olinsky Law Group BBI fellow will get a real hands-on experience in disability law practice before he or she graduates.

‘We’re going to be using the fellow to do some research in their area of expertise in cases that we may have active,’ he said.

Olinsky’s gift is part of the Campaign for Syracuse University, a seven-year campaign that is looking to raise $1 billion. The campaign has raised more than $900 million, Adornato said. Olinsky’s donation will count toward those funds. The campaign ends in slightly more than one year, Adornato said.

BBI launched in 2005 and is named in honor of Burton Blatt, a former dean of the School of Education, Adornato said. Blatt was revered and considered a pioneer in disability issues, he said.

Adornato said BBI’s three main goals are to do cutting-edge research relating to disability programs; to create innovative programs to help people with disabilities; and to educate the next generation of student leaders when it comes to disability. The center helped launch the Start-Up NY program, which has helped more than 60 disabled entrepreneurs start their own businesses, he said.

Peter Blanck, chairman of BBI, said he thinks it is important to educate future generations of leaders in the disability field.

‘One of the most important efforts in the disability advocacy area and research area is to build a next generation of leaders, both with and without disabilities, and my view is that this gift is crucially important to help with that effort,’ he said.

Blanck said the donation is a great opportunity for members of the SU campus, which has a long history of disability awareness and advocacy, to get involved. He said he hopes it will also spur collaboration and awareness.

Olinsky said he wanted to donate the money to BBI because of the phenomenal work the institute has done in disability studies.

‘Syracuse University is a leader in campus-inclusive initiatives,’ he said. ‘They’re training the next generation of disability attorneys, social scientists and experts in that field.’

Olinsky said 25 percent of Americans are disabled in some fashion, and society is only starting to realize the potential of people with disabilities. He said SU, in particular, has been ahead of the curve and has supported students with disabilities and worked to integrate them into the community.

Said Olinsky: ‘SU is a leader and BBI is a leader all across the country in making people aware of all this stuff and is an engine for change, and I hope they continue to do that.’

snbouvia@syr.edu 

Published on November 15, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia