Wagner College

Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college founded in 1883 with an enrollment of approximately 2,100 total students located atop Grymes Hill in the New York City borough of Staten Island, in the U.S. state of New York. The college is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

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 38 acre 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 acre 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 acre 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.

Campus
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.

Union Art Gallery
The Union Art Gallery at Wagner College features works from students, faculty and alumni. Located on the main floor of the college union building, the Union Art Gallery serves as a space for visiting artists to directly engage with the student body in this one room gallery.

Admission and 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 3.45. 97% 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 25–28. 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 2012–2013 academic year is $48,400.

Wagner College offers various academic and athletic scholarships.

Athletics


Wagner College offers athletic scholarships and competes at the NCAA Division I level in all intercollegiate athletics (football 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 204–122–2 (.624) career record ranks in the top 10 among all Division I-FCS coaches in the United States.

From 2010-2012, Wagner Men's Basketball was coached by Dan Hurley, who led Wagner to a 38–23 (24–12 NEC) record in his two seasons before taking the Head Coaching Job at the University of Rhode Island. 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. In 2012, Wagner hired Bashir Mason as its new men's basketball coach. Mason is the youngest coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball.

Other notable Wagner coaches of the past include current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo (Head Basketball Coach 1976–1982), former Marquette University and Wagner Head Coach Mike Deane who is currently an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at James Madison University, 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 2007–08 athletic/academic seasons with an average GPA of 3.186 in 19 sports.

On December 23, 2011 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.

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.

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)   Wagner College Physician Assistant Association

Notable alumni

 * Tiffany Andrade, Miss New Jersey USA 2008 and 2nd runner-up at Miss USA 2008
 * Andrew Bailey, Former MLB Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. 2009 & 2010 A.L. All-Star. 2009 A.L. Rookie of the Year.
 * Bob Beckel, Political Commentator and analyst on the Fox News Channel.
 * Peter L. Berger, sociologist and theologian
 * Jedediah Bila, author and political pundit
 * Kathy Brier, actor
 * Molly Burnett, star of Days of Our Lives
 * Lillian G. Burry, politician
 * Tim Capstraw, sports announcer and college basketball coach
 * Michelle Cliff, author
 * Brad Corbett, Owner of Texas Rangers from 1974 to 1980.
 * Piotr Czech, Former NFL kicker
 * Phil Theis, wrestler
 * Fred Espenak, NASA astronomer
 * Carmine Giovinazzo, Actor (CSI: NY)
 * Randy Graff, actor Les Misérables Original Broadway Cast as Fantine
 * Samantha Hammel, singer, actress and record producer
 * Friedrich Katz, anthropologist and historian
 * Andrew Keating, author and publisher
 * Rich Kotite, former NFL Head Coach
 * Robert Loggia, actor
 * Alicia Luciano, Miss New Jersey 2002
 * Donna Lupardo, member of the New York State Assembly
 * Kenneth Mitchell, politician
 * Guy Molinari, former Borough President of Staten Island; former member of the United States Congress
 * Dan Mullen, head football coach at Mississippi State University
 * Alexander Noyes, current drummer for the band Honor Society (band)
 * Amy Polumbo, former Miss New Jersey (2007–2008)
 * Vinnie Potestivo, television producer
 * Danny Seigle, Philippine Basketball (PBA) player, member of the Philippine Basketball Team
 * Julian Stanford, NFL Linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars
 * Lynne Stewart, imprisoned civil rights lawyer
 * Robert Straniere, former member of New York State Assembly
 * Brian Whitman, radio talk show host
 * Paul Zindel, author and playwright

Movies, television & news
Wagner's campus has been featured in:
 * Newsweek Magazine
 * American Express Commercials
 * 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. The Horace Green School portrayed in the movie is Wagner's Main Hall Building.
 * 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
 * You Don't Know Jack, 2010 HBO Film
 * Illegal Tender (film)
 * Operation Invasion Outer Space. Scenes were filmed in a lecture hall in the Megerle Communications building.