Preserving History at the Southampton Marine Sciences Center
Photos Chris Paparo – FishGuyPhotos
With the passage of time, history is too often forgotten. For this reason, we have decided to name the pair of ospreys that nest at the Marine Sciences Center at the Southampton campus of Stony Brook University after Ral and Mary Welker.
Dr. John Ralvan “Ral” Welker (1927-2012) was a marine ecologist who in 1965 founded the marine science program, of what was then, Southampton College of Long Island University. He served as the director of marine operations and research from 1965 to 1993 and during that time the marine science program at Southampton became world renowned. Now operated by Stony Brook University, the marine science program at Southampton is still flourishing some fifty plus years later thanks to the impact Ral and his wife Mary had on the east end. Although Mary now resides in Florida, she continues to inspire us all.
Read the article by Chris Paparo here:
