Press Releases

June 14, 2002
Evan Frankel Foundation Scholarships to Marine Science Students Are Announced

Contact:
Patricia Conway (PR@southampton.liu.edu)
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 283 4081

Five distinguished students in the Marine Science program at Southampton College of Long Island University have each been awarded $4,000 scholarships by the Evan Frankel Foundation. These awards are supported by an $800,000 endowment fund that was established last summer when Long Island University raised $400,000 to match a challenge grant from the Foundation. Since 1997 the Foundation has awarded $168,000 in scholarship money to 44 Marine Science students.

The Foundation, based in East Hampton, has made significant contributions that directly benefit Southampton students since it started making grants in the early 1990s. These scholarships allow Marine Science students the chance to participate in a range of experiential education programs around the world that they may not otherwise be able to afford. Many of the past award recipients have gone on to graduate school or have plans to continue their higher education. The experiential programs have benefited the students' research experiences and enabled them to further define their educational and career decisions, which in turn have increased the likelihood of being accepted into competitive graduate programs.

Gregory Mataronas, a native of Little Compton, RI, would like to take part in the Tropical Marine Biology course next January, which is held on Fiji and the Solomon Islands. "The combination of field observations and an independent research project in a field course is the chance of a lifetime. This scholarship makes possible a unique and beneficial educational experience for me," he said.

Peter Topping of Southampton, NY plans to join a volunteer program in Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. While there he will also focus on his graduate school plans.

Sarah Harris of Phoenix, AZ and Skye Schmidt of Warminster, PA will both be interning at SUNY Stony Brook with Dr. Gerald Thomsen studying sea anemones.

Beckley, WV native Tait Olson is planning to intern at the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in Moss Landing, CA to study benthic invertebrates. "I look forward to applying the knowledge I have gained in the classroom to real world problems," he said.

The Evan Frankel Foundation was established in April 1991 by Evan Frankel, who received an Honorary Degree from Southampton College in 1982. The foundation's primary emphasis is in higher education in the humanities and the environment.

Southampton College's Marine Science Program is nationally recognized for its excellence and has produced 33 Fulbright Scholars, two Udall Scholars and a Marshall Scholar in the past 27 years.