Wagner University

Wagner College

Latin: Collegium Wagnerianum
Type	Private liberal arts college
Established	1883
Religious affiliation	Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Academic affiliations	CUMU CIC NAICU
President	Richard Guarasci
Provost	Lily McNair
Academic staff	96
Students	2,200
Undergraduates	1,750
Postgraduates	450
Location	Staten Island, New York, U.S. 40°36′54″N 74°05′38″W / 40.615°N 74.094°W / 40.615; -74.094Coordinates: 40°36′54″N 74°05′38″W / 40.615°N 74.094°W / 40.615; -74.094
Campus	105
Colors	Green and Gold
Nickname	Seahawks
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I – NEC
Website	wagner.edu

Wagner College is a private, national liberal arts college in the New York City borough of Staten Island, New York. Founded in 1883 and with a current enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. The college is regionally accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Wagner College was founded in 1883 in Rochester, New York, as the Lutheran Proseminary of Rochester to train Lutheran ministers. Its six-year curriculum was modeled on the German gymnasium. In 1886, it was renamed 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, in 1918. Westwood, the Cunard mansion which dates from 1851, is extant (now Cunard Hall) as is the neighboring former hotel annex that was built in 1905 (initially named North Hall and is now Reynolds House). The college soon expanded to 57 acres (23 ha) after it acquired the neighboring Jacob 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 Academy, 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.