Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,350 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island. The college is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

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History

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 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 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 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.

General

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 three residence halls. The Spiro Sports Center (1999) is the most recent major addition.

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. In addition, the college is also constructing a new residence hall, named Foundation Hall, which is scheduled to open in January of 2010.

Admission & Tuition

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 3.52. 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 and Room & Board for full-time undergraduate students (9 units) during the 2009-2010 academic year is $42,130.

Rankings

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" (#2), "Best NCAA Graduation Rate in Division I" (#15), and "Northern Master's Universities" (#24).

Athletics

Wagner College 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 189-105-2 (.643) career record ranks in the top 10 among all Division I-FCS coaches in the United States. Mike Deane, in his 7th season as Head Basketball Coach at Wagner (25th overall), guided the Seahawks men's basketball team to a school record 23-8 record in 2007-2008 and a second place finish in the NEC. Deane's 432-306 (.586) 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 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 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.

Academics

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.

Majors and Concentrations

Accounting, B.S. Anthropology, B.A. Art, B.A. Arts Administration, B.S. Biology, B.S. Biopsychology, B.S. Business Administration, B.S. Chemistry, B.S. Computer Science, B.S. Dance (minor) Economics, B.A. Education, B.S.E. English, B.A. Environmental Studies (minor) French Studies, B.A. Gender Studies (minor) History, B.A. Information Systems (minor)

International Affairs, B.A. Journalism (minor) Languages (minors and major) Mathematics, B.S. Microbiology, B.S. Music, B.A. Nursing, B.S. Philosophy, B.A. Physician Assistant, M.S. Physics, B.S. Government and Politics, B.A. Public Policy and Administration, B.A. Psychology, B.A. and B.S. Religious Studies (minor) Sociology/Anthropology, B.A. Spanish, B.A. Theatre Performance (Musical Theatre, Technical Theatre, Theatre Studies), B.A.

Pre-professional programs

• Pre-Law
• Pre-Engineering
• Pre-Ministry
• Pre-Health Science Programs
• * Medicine
• * Dentistry
• * Veterinary Medicine
• * Pharmacy
• * Optometry
• * Podiatry

Graduate Programs

• Business Administration
• *M.B.A. (Traditional, Executive, Accelerated)
• *Accounting, M.S.
• Education, M.S.E.
• *Adolescent Education
• *Childhood Education
• *Early Childhood Education
• *Middle Level Education
• *Teaching Literacy (B-6)
• Microbiology, M.S.
• Nursing, M.S.
• Physician Assistant B.S/M.S. (5-year program)

Photos

Notable alumni

• Andrew Bailey, All-Star pitcher for the Oakland Athletics
• Victoria Batistelli, Rockford Thunder catcher
• Peter L. Berger, sociologist and theologian
• Kathy Brier, actor
• Molly Burnett, star of Days of Our Lives
• Jason Butler, Professional Running Back for the Rhinos Milan (Italy)
• Tim Capstraw, sports announcer and college basketball coach
• Piotr Czech, NFL Kicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Michelle Cliff, author
• Frank Corrado, Rockstar
• Christina DeCicco, actress/singer
• Fred Espenak, NASA astronomer
• Randy Graff, actor
• Laura Graham, executive director, William J. Clinton Foundation
• Samantha Hammel, singer, actress and record producer
• Walter Hartung, Founding member of TKE ZA chapter at Wagner, telecommunications engineer; established Walter G. and Lillian Hartung Endowment for Mathematics .
• Rich Kotite, former NFL coach
• Robert Loggia, actor
• Donna Lupardo, member of New York State Assembly
• William Maxwell, artist
• Michelle Millerick, actor and singer
• Guy Molinari, former Borough President of Staten Island; former member of the United States Congress
• Dan Mullen, head football coach at Mississippi State University
• Al Phillips, Former NFL Defensive Back for the New York Jets
• Amy Polumbo, Former Miss New Jersey (2007-2008)
• Vinnie Potestivo, Television Producer
• Steven L. J. Russo, Director of the Suits-Bueche Planetarium, Schenectady, New York
• Sheldon Schafer, Director of the Lakeview Planetarium, Peoria, Illinois
• Danny Seigle, Philippine Basketball (PBA) player, member of the Philippine Basketball Team
• Albert P. Stauderman, editor of The Lutheran
• Lynne Stewart, attorney and activist
• Robert Straniere, former member of New York State Assembly
• Brian Whitman, radio talk show host
• Shley Willisch, diva
• Emily Youssouf, President, New York Housing Development Corporation
• Paul Zindel, author and playwright

Movies and television

Wagner's campus has been featured in:

• Silent Madness , 1984 film
• Naked in New York , 1993 film
• Cadaverous , 2000 film
• The Sopranos , 2001 (season 3). The campus was featured when Tony and Carmela visited a military school.
• The Education of Max Bickford , 2001. CBS drama series starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marcia Gay Harden. Wagner (along with Brooklyn College) was the fictional Chadwick College.
• Spike TV, 2003 a commercial featuring a girls field hockey team.
• School of Rock , 2003 film starring Jack Black and Joan Cusack.
• Poster Boy , 2004 film which won the Outfest Grand Jury Award for Best Screenwriting.
• The Visitor , distributed by Overture Films
• Staten Island , 2008 independent film starring Ethan Hawke.
• Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU
• FX television series Rescue Me''
• Comedy Central on Campus: Starring Christian Finnegan