| Wagner College | |
|---|---|
| Latin: Collegium Wagnerianum | |
| Established | 1883 |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Evangelical Lutheran Church in America |
| Endowment | $50 Million[1] |
| President | Dr. Richard Guarasci |
| Provost | Dr. Lily McNair |
| Dean | Anne Goodsell Love, Ruta Shah-Gordon |
| Academic staff | 107 |
| Students | 2,400 |
| Undergraduates | 2,000 |
| Postgraduates | 400 |
| Location | Staten Island, NY, USA |
| Campus | Suburban, hilltop overlooks NYC skyline. 105 acres (42 ha) |
| Athletics | NCAA Division I |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Nickname | Seahawks |
| Website | www.wagner.edu, www.wagnerathletics.com |
Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island. The college is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
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Wagner College was founded in 1883 in Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Lutheran Proseminary to train Lutheran ministers. Its curriculum was modeled on the German gymnasium; it was a six year curriculum. In 1886, it became the Wagner Memorial Lutheran College after a building in Rochester was purchased for its use by John G. Wagner in memory of his son.
The college moved to the 38-acre (15 ha) former Cunard estate on Grymes Hill, Staten Island (370 feet above sea level) in 1918. Bellevue, the Cunard mansion which dates from 1851, is extant (now Cunard Hall) as is the neighboring former hotel for visitors which also dates from the 19th century (initially named North Hall and is now Reynolds House). The college soon expanded to 57 acres (23 ha) after it acquired the neighboring Vanderbilt estate in 1922. In the 1920s, the curriculum began to move toward an American-style curriculum which was solidified when the state of New York granted the college degree-granting status in 1928. The college admitted women in 1933 and introduced graduate programs in 1951. The college expanded further when it purchased the W.G. Ward estate in 1949 (current site of Wagner College Stadium), and again in 1993 when the college acquired the adjacent property of the former Augustinian High School which has largely remained wooded greenspace and athletic fields. The college now occupies 105 acres (42 ha) on the hill and has commanding views of New York harbor, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Downtown Brooklyn, and lower Manhattan.
In the early 1960s, the Wagner College Writer's Conference hosted several prominent writers including Edward Albee, Kay Boyle, and Kenneth Koch.
Prominent buildings include Main Hall (1930) and Parker Hall (1923) built in the collegiate Gothic style. A group of modern buildings built in the 1960s include the Student Union (1970), Megerle Science Building (1968), and the Spiro Communication Center (1968). The Horrmann Library (1961) contains over 200,000 volumes and holds the collection and personal papers of poet Edwin Markham. 80% of the undergraduates live in one of four residence halls. The Spiro Sports Center (1999) was the most recent major addition, until early 2010 when the college opened Foundation Hall, a residence hall for upper classmen.
In 2007 it was announced that a new academic building is under development for construction on the site of the former Augustinian High School. It will be a state-of-the-art facility that will house the Business, Nursing, and Education departments. It will also house new and state-of-the-art classrooms. The project is now in the final planning stages and construction is scheduled to begin soon. However, the turbulent economic times have called into question the project and advertisements for it are no longer present at the college.
Undergraduate admissions to Wagner College are classified as “more selective” by US News & World Report and The Princeton Review, making admission into Wagner College competitive. The average incoming high school grade point average is 3.6. 95% of incoming students graduate in the top half of their class. The average incoming SAT score for critical reading is: 530-640, math: 530-650, writing: 520-650. The average incoming ACT score is between 24-28. Important admissions factors are class rank, rigor of secondary school record, academic GPA, application essay, extracurricular activities, recommendations, and standardized test scores.
Tuition, room and board for full-time undergraduate students (9 units) during the 2010-2011 academic year is $44,160.
Wagner College offers various academic and athletic scholarships.
Wagner College is listed in The Princeton Review’s annual "Best 366 Colleges" guide. Wagner is also listed in several of The Princeton Review’s Top 20 rankings, including "Best College Theater" (#2) and "Most Beautiful Campus" (#4). The US News & World Report lists Wagner College in several Top 25 rankings, including "Northern Master's Degree Granting Universities" (#1), "Up-and-Coming Schools(North Region)" (#1), "Best NCAA Graduation Rate in Division I Athletics" (#15), and "Northern Master's Universities" (#24).
In 1988, the College was suffering serious enrollment and financial declines. Over the next ten years, Wagner experienced one of the most remarkable turnarounds in higher education history. Enrollment grew to capacity. The national rankings went from bottom tier to top tier. The student body changed from largely local to residential capacity. The Princeton Review ranked the campus as the most beautiful in America. The story of these years is chronicled in the book, TOP TIER The Wagner College Turnaround Years, written by Wagner College President Emeritus Norman Smith.
Wagner College offers athletic scholarships and competes at the NCAA Division I level in all intercollegiate athletics except for football, which competes at the NCAA Division I FCS (Formerly I-AA) level. Wagner is a full-time member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) along with Bryant University, Central Connecticut State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Long Island University, Monmouth University, Mount Saint Mary's University, Quinnipiac University, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Francis College, and Saint Francis University. Wagner is the seventh smallest college in the country that participates in NCAA Division I athletics and the third smallest in the NEC. Men's varsity intercollegiate teams are fielded in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, tennis, and track & field. Women's varsity intercollegiate teams are fielded in basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, and water polo. The men's ice hockey team participates in an active club sport schedule. On March 12, 2009 - Wagner announced the discontinuation of the men's wrestling and women's volleyball programs.
The football and men's basketball teams are Wagner's most popular and prestigious athletic programs. Walt Hameline, in 29 years as the Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach at Wagner, won the school's only National Championship with a 19-3 victory over the University of Dayton in the 1987 NCAA Division III Championship game, also known as the 1987 Stagg Bowl. He was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1987. Hameline's 195-109-2 (.641) career record ranks in the top 10 among all Division I-FCS coaches in the United States. On April 7, 2010, Wagner hired former St. Benedicts Prep coach Dan Hurley to replace Mike Deane, who was relieved of his coaching duties after his 7th season at Wagner. Deane's 437-332 (.568) career record ranks in the top 30 (#26) of all active Division I coaches in the United States. Other notable Wagner coaches of the past include P.J. Carlesimo (Head Basketball Coach 1976-1982), Jim Lee Howell (Head Football Coach 1947-1953), and current Mississippi State University Head Football Coach Dan Mullen (Assistant Football Coach 1994-1995). The football team's home venue is Wagner College Stadium, while the basketball team plays its home games at the Spiro Sports Center.
The Wagner College Athletic Department has been cited by the US News & World Report for having the 15th best graduation rate in intercollegiate athletics amongst more than 300 Division I colleges. Wagner also captured its second straight Northeast Conference Institutional Academic Award (Highest Student-Athlete GPA) for the 2007-2008 athletic/academic seasons with an average GPA of 3.186 in 19 sports.
Wagner College Athletics can be found online at www.wagnerathletics.com. On 12-23-11 the Wagner Seahawks men's college basketball team beat the 13th. ranked Pittsburgh Panthers 59-54 for their first win against a ranked team in 33 years.
Wagner offers several undergraduate degrees in the arts and sciences as well as some pre-professional courses of study.
The most popular undergraduate majors at Wagner are Biological Sciences, Business, Psychology, Sociology and Theater.
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