Project Impact
Donations to the BECS Foundation have supported scholarships and research at The College of The Bahamas and to other educational and scientific and cultural causes in The Bahamas. Many donors have contributed to the Winston Storr Memorial Scholarship which was awarded to a student at The College in 2006. The Disney Foundation in 2007 supported research on the infamous lionfish in The Bahamas. These are just two examples of how donors are making a difference to The Bahamas through their support.

About The College of The Bahamas
Established in 1974, The College of The Bahamas is the national higher education institution of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. With an enrolment of almost 5000 students located throughout the Bahamian archipelago, the institution grants mostly bachelor degrees and some joint master's degrees in conjunction with other accredited institutions from the United States.

The College enjoys extensive links with tertiary institutions in the Caribbean and North America, and its credits are accepted by more than 200 colleges and universities in those regions and in Great Britain. With a view to attaining a charter as a university by 2007, the College has embarked aggressively upon a major expansion of its programme offerings, research activities and physical facilities and is incorporating e-learning methodologies into its repertoire of strategies for delivering instruction. Brief Introduction of The College of The Bahamas. For more information, please visit The College’s website at www.cob.edu.bs

Scholarships and Research Supported at The College of The Bahamas
The Stefan J. Vaglio-Laurin Memorial Scholarship was established by Dr. Norma Vaglio-Laurin in memory of her son. It is awarded annually to a student at The College of The Bahamas.

Stefan J. Vaglio-Laurin was born on January 28, 1961 in Brooklyn, N. Y. He developed a passion for music and literature at an early age and soon decided to pursue music as a way of life. This quest, and his insatiable curiosity, took him down many roads and to many different places. Along the way, he was fortunate in meeting and befriending quite a number of special people.

Those who knew him say that Stefan had a unique way of relating to people. He was best known for his generosity, honesty, and real concern for others. Often he would deny himself personal comforts in order to help someone in need.

His friends always marveled at Stefan’s intelligence and were amazed by his incredible memory. Names, faces, places, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays – none of these were ever lost or forgotten. Whatever the occasion, you always knew that Stefan would remember it without the help of a calendar or address book. This brilliance was eventually applied to academic achievement. He graduated with a 4.0 index from the College of DuPage in 1993, was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Society, and was a student at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.

On the morning of Thursday, November 24, 1994, Stefan was fatally injured in a head-on collision on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. He was on his way to share Thanksgiving with his family; however, as was typical of Stefan, he first went out of his way to accompany three Wheaton College students to their destination, in Ohio, so that they could spend the holiday together. His life was then cut short by a drunk driver who was traveling, at a high rate of speed, against the traffic. Also killed was Sammy, Stefan’s beagle and best friend. They were laid to rest together in the tomb already occupied by Stefan’s dad.

THE COLLEGE OF THE BAHAMAS MARINE AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES INSTITUTE
Receives Award from Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund

The Marine and Environmental Studies Institute at The College of The Bahamas has been selected by the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund (DWCF) for a $12,000 award for its work on the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish in The Bahamas. Specifically, the DWCF funds will go toward ecological research and the establishment and management of an online information network for the National Lionfish Response Team in The Bahamas.

The Commonwealth of The Bahamas faces significant challenges in the management and protection of marine resources over the 1,200 kilometer-long archipelago. Well-known stressors on the marine environment include over-fishing, pollution and climate change. The threats posed by invasive marine species, however, is less familiar to both scientists and the general public alike but is becoming increasingly significant due to globalization and its concomitant rises in the rate and magnitude of biological invaders.

Biological invaders, also referred to as invasive species, are non-native species that become established in a new environment and proliferate and spread in ways that may noticeably impact native populations, species or entire ecosystems. The recent introduction of the Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans) to the western Atlantic Ocean is of special concern to The Bahamas due to the unknown but potentially adverse effects of lionfish on native fisheries and the ecology of Bahamian coastal systems. Furthermore, the venomous nature of lionfish may present a human safety risk to uninformed beach goers, divers, and commercial and recreational fishermen.

The Marine and Environmental Studies Institute at The College of The Bahamas in collaboration with the Department of Marine Resources is creating a long-term national lionfish response plan that entails a partnership between both local and regional government and non-governmental agencies. The plan focuses on: 1) ecological research, 2) invasion management and policy development, and 3) educational initiatives to understand the implications of the establishment of lionfish in The Bahamas.

President Janyne M. Hodder notes that “The College is pleased to be a partner in a project that has the potential of protecting the precious natural environment of this country. By virtue of our mission to teach, to carry research and to offer service to the nation, we are particularly suited to ensuring the development of sustainable solutions to the problems of the nation. This particular project also builds on talent and capacity which already exists at The College and we are grateful to the talent and dedication of Dr. Kathleen Sullivan-Sealy and her colleagues at the Marine and Environmental Studies Institute.

The College of The Bahamas was selected from more than 260 applications reviewed by scientists, veterinarians and other animal experts. The organizations range from large national groups to small community efforts, from Africa to Florida, and in total received more than $1.5 million in awards, bringing the DWCF total to more than $11 million in conservation projects supported.



“Our company has a commitment to the environment that dates back to Walt Disney himself,” said Jerry Montgomery, senior vice president of Conservation & Environmental Sustainability for Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. “Protecting wildlife and wild places through the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund is a key component of our mission.”

The Marine and Environmental Studies Institute at The College of The Bahamas is a multidisciplinary research unit committed to building national capacity in long-term environmental research, monitoring and information management. This research unit is focused on special issues related to the sustainable use and management of marine and other natural resources. By collaborating with Bahamian Government Ministries and international research institutions, The Marine and Environmental Studies Institute at The College of the Bahamas engages in projects that meet critical information gaps at the national level. The Institute strives ultimately to produce peer-reviewed publications that influence sustainable development on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in general and national policy in particular. This award acknowledges the role of The Marine and Environmental Studies Institute at The College of the Bahamas in long-term marine research and monitoring.

The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund receives a significant annual donation from The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney World Resort covers the fund’s administrative costs.

“In addition to our company’s contributions, many guests who visit Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Cruise Line share their personal commitment to conservation by making a donation to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund,” added Montgomery. “Disney guests who are inspired by the fund are able to participate knowing that 100 percent of their donation goes toward conservation.”