Press Releases

June 5, 2001
College Names Cooperative Education "Employer of the Year"

The Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons Honored; Brookhaven National Labs Director John Marburger is Guest Speaker

Contact:
Patricia Conway
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

The Wildlife Rescue Center of the Hamptons will receive the Southampton College Cooperative Education Employer of the Year Award on Wednesday, June 6, in the Kanas Lobby of Chancellor's Hall at Southampton College at 12:00 p.m. Co-directors Virginia Frati and James Hunter will be honored for their work with Southampton College co-op students. John Marburger, Director of Brookhaven National Laboratories, and former President of SUNY at Stony Brook, will be the guest speaker.

The Rescue Center's mission is to preserve, protect and provide public information about the region's wildlife. The Center operates the area's only wildlife hospital where they care for sick, injured and orphaned creatures before returning them to the wild. They offer local high school and college students the opportunity to learn about animal care and conservation through work at the hospital, and provide the area's only 24-hour telephone advisory service for people needing help with wildlife related issues.

"During the 2000/2001 school year, we had 13 co-operative education students from the College," said Frati. "Our goal was to provide education and instruction in wildlife rehabilitation and conservation, along with providing meaningful employment, including orientation, training and supervision, so students could apply classroom theory to a real world setting."

Since 1979, more than 2600 Southampton College students have participated in the Co-op program, placed in 37 states and 17 countries.