Truax First Recipient of Keating Scholarship

In memory of the late Distinguished Teaching Professor, Dr. E. Gregory Keating, SUNY Cobleskill awarded Justin Truax of Broadalbin/Amsterdam, the first $2,000 scholarship on Monday, April 29.

Truax, a health sciences student, demonstrated the utmost desire for practicing rural medicine upon completion of his education. Growing up in a rural area he realized the importance of community service and since then has been actively involved in Breast Cancer walks, Cystic Fibrosis walks, “Up ‘til Dawn” for St. Jude’s Hospital, and CHABHA – an organization that helps children orphaned by HIV/Aids in Africa. As an A student, Truax juggles a part-time managerial job at the local Subway, a full pre-medical course load at SUNY Cobleskill, and clinical time at Bassett’s Cobleskill Regional hospital and The Mithoefer Center for Rural Surgery. Typically, clinical experience is reserved for second semester students.

In honor of Keating, a supporter of the SUNY Cobleskill and Upstate Medical University Early Assurance Program and the Upstate Medical College RMEDS Program, SUNY Cobleskill founded a $2,000 per year scholarship for students from rural New York communities who wish to pursue a career as a physician in a rural community. Additional criteria include a minimum of 93 percent high school average, a minimum 1200 SAT or equivalent ACT score, a minimum 3.5 SUNY Cobleskill grade point average, and is active in the community or campus.

Dr. E. Gregory Keating served as Dean of Student Affairs at SUNY Upstate Medical College until his untimely death last summer. He was a professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, where he taught and co-directed a neuroscience course, which was considered one of the most innovative in the College of Medicine. Keating also created a special six-week neuroscience course for graduate students and developed several software packages that were used at SUNY Cobleskill and other universities. During his tenure, Keating was recognized by several awards: Cell and Developmental Biology Departmental Award for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching (1992, 1996); President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1995); the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (1996); and in 2001 he was named a State University of New York Distinguished Teaching Professor – the highest teaching award in the 64-campus system.

A well-known scholar in the field of vision and oculomotor studies, Keating ran his lab for 30 years and received research funding from the U.S. Public Health Service, the Veteran’s Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the National Science Foundation. Many graduate students who began their professional careers in his laboratory now hold faculty positions at leading institutions. He also guided the dissertations of nearly 30 students.