Wagner History

Early History

91��Ƭ�� began in 1883 with the founding of the Lutheran Proseminary of Rochester, N.Y., during a wave of religious college establishment following the Civil War. With just six students, the school began its mission of training future Lutheran ministers, fluent in both German and English, to serve America’s large and growing German immigrant community. Three years later it became Wagner Memorial Lutheran College; a gift of $12,000 for a new campus from John George Wagner and his wife led the school’s governing board to rename the institution in memory of their son, J. George Wagner Jr., who had dreamed of becoming a minister before his death at age 19.

As the 20th century dawned, Rochester was becoming progressively more industrialized and less suitable for a small school. In 1916 the Evangelical Lutheran Ministerium of New York, which oversaw Wagner since 1888, decided to move the school to the New York City area; the Rev. Frederic Sutter, one of Wagner’s early graduates and a Lutheran pastor on Staten Island, was in charge of the relocation. Through his efforts, 91��Ƭ�� relocated to Grymes Hill on Staten Island in 1918.

Rev. Sutter could not have chosen a more beautiful site for this new beginning. The college found its new home on the site of the 38-acre former estate of Sir Edward Cunard, of the shipping and cruise line. This breathtaking site overlooks New York Harbor, Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Atlantic Ocean, an ideal location for the start of Wagner’s modern history.

Archival Videos

'Beautiful Upon a Hill' (Redigitized 2015)

This early 91��Ƭ�� promotional film, released in 1949, starred a young Wagner student, Robert Loggia, playing the character "Bob." Loggia, a native Staten Islander, went on to a long, highly successful career as a film and TV actor known especially for his "tough guy" roles.

'Campus Life the Clock Around' (1938)

"Campus Life the Clock Around," a silent melodrama made on the 91��Ƭ�� campus in 1938 by optometrist Fred Brock, features scenes in the lobby of Reynolds House and what used to be the dining wing of Cunard Hall. The story featured students Caroline Berkel, Charles Hellriegel, Everett Jensen and Al Beck.

1929 — Laying the Cornerstone for Main Hall

With Rev. Dr. Frederic Sutter, founder of 91��Ƭ�� on Staten Island, President Charles Dapp, Mrs. M. E. Hettling, president of the 91��Ƭ�� Guild, and Otto F. Koehler, builder.

"Tales of Wagner" 1948 spoof

In 1948, Hal Carstens produced "Tales of Wagner" with his Sigma Delta Phi brothers using a hand-cranked 8-mm camera. Fraternity brothers played all the roles in this story of a country bumpkin's introduction to college life.

'Movie Bugs' (1938)

In 1938, Staten Island optometrist Fred Bock teamed up with 91��Ƭ�� biology professor Ralph Deal to make this experimental, silent film of microscopic organisms taken from a nearby pond -- hence, the film's title.

91��Ƭ�� 1965 Commencement home movie

Much has changed, yet much is still the same! That might be the subtitle for this archival home film of 91��Ƭ��'s 1965 Commencement program.

1955-56 91��Ƭ�� Choir Tour home movies

Home movies from the 1955-56 91��Ƭ�� Choir tour, including farewells, boarding the bus, and performance. (The original home movies were silent.)

1957 91��Ƭ�� Homecoming home movies

Home movies from 91��Ƭ��'s 1957 Homecoming festivities. (The original home movies were silent.) Though many floats feature the year "1958," the appearance of still photos in the 1958 issue of Kallista (pages 30 and 31) taken at this Homecoming parade make it clear that they must have been participating in a parade that took place in the fall of 1957.

'Beautiful Upon a Hill' (Redigitized 2015)

'Campus Life the Clock Around' (1938)

1929 — Laying the Cornerstone for Main Hall

"Tales of Wagner" 1948 spoof

'Movie Bugs' (1938)

91��Ƭ�� 1965 Commencement home movie

1955-56 91��Ƭ�� Choir Tour home movies

1957 91��Ƭ�� Homecoming home movies

Modern History

With the move to Staten Island came a new approach to education. The College developed a liberal arts curriculum and grew enrollment. Construction of a new residence hall began in 1922, followed by an academic and administrative building in 1928 to accommodate this growth, providing residence, laboratory, classroom and office space for these new students and their professors. Today, Main Hall remains Wagner’s signature building. The lawn in front of Main was christened Sutter Oval in gratitude for Rev. Sutter’s important contributions to the college. Sutter Gymnasium (now part of the Spiro Sports Center) was built next to Main Hall in 1951.

The college community grew again in 1933 when women were first admitted to Wagner. By this time, Wagner had become a well-established institution on Staten Island, and deservedly gained a reputation as such. During World War II, Wagner initiated a nursing program to help with “the emergency.” This began the growth of more professional programs at Wagner, with an education department following in the post-war period. Graduate degrees were added in 1952. Generous bequests now support the Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing and the Nicolais School of Business.

Wagner’s academics have seen other significant shifts through the years. In 1971, faculty voted to end the mandated “basic curriculum” of arts and sciences in favor of more student choice. In 1998, faculty endorsed the Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts, designed to enhance the academic program by combining practical experience with classroom learning. In 2024-2025, the college again began the renewal of its academic offerings with an eye to investing in those career-oriented fields that students and families increasingly demanded, including business, nursing, theatre, physician assistant, biology, psychology and education.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner embarked on an aggressive building campaign to keep pace with the growth of its academic reputation and enrollment. The three residence halls built during that period — Guild, Harborview and Parker Towers — were joined by Foundation Hall, opened in January 2010. The Union building is home not only to the College administration and student activities offices, but the main dining hall (including the Faculty Dining Room) and the Hawk’s Nest. The Grymes Hill campus now houses students from 43 states and over 40 foreign countries. Megerle Science Hall and the Spiro Communications Center house numerous labs and lecture halls, plus one of only three planetariums in New York City open to the public. Our nationally recognized theatre program showcases the talents of Wagner’s students in the Main Hall auditorium and the Stage One studio theater. Wagner’s Division I athletic program highlights Seahawks’ achievements on more than 20 sports and club teams.

As of 2025 nearly 2,000 students form the Wagner community of scholars. The College is designated a Professions-Focused Undergraduate/ Graduate Master’s Small institution in the 2025 Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, which also classified Wagner as a Higher Earnings Institution based on alumni salaries. In 2025, Wagner was ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the Top 100 of Regional North Universities; was named a four-star college by Money Magazine in 2024; and landed in both the Best in the Northeast and Colleges That Create Futures lists by Princeton Review in 2025, which also ranked the College’s theatre program no. 2 in the United States.

History of Leadership

The college’s first headmasters were called “housefathers.” They were: George Seel (1883-84), Pastor Koennemann (first name unknown) (1884), F.A. Kammerer (1884-85) and C.G. Schneider (1885).

In 1885, the college gave its headmaster the title of “direktor,” consistent with its German-language curriculum. The directors were: Paul Emil Kellner (1885-87), Joseph Rechtsteiner (1887-88), Jacob Steinhaeuser (1888-94), John Nicum (1894-1902), Joseph Rechtsteiner (1902-04),Hermann Dietrich Kraeling (1904-14) and John A.W. Kirsch (1914-18).

With the move to Staten Island, the college began calling its chief executive officer “president.” The presidents of Wagner have been: Adolf Henry Holthusen (1918-25), Frederic Sutter (acting, 1925-27), Charles F. Dapp (1927-1930), Frederic Sutter (acting, 1930-31), Herman Brezing (1931-34), Frederic Sutter (acting, 1934-35), Clarence C. Stoughton (1935-1945), Walter C. Langsam (1945-1952), David M. Delo (1952-1957), Richard H. Heindel (1958-1961), Arthur O. Davidson (1961-1975), John Satterfield (1975-1981), Sam H. Frank (1981-1987), Norman R. Smith (1988-2002), Richard Guarasci (2002–2019), Joel Martin (2019-2021), and Angelo Araimo (acting, 2021-2024). The current president is Jeffrey Doggett (2024-).

Grymes Hill

91��Ƭ�� is intimately connected to Grymes Hill, the community to which it belongs today, and its history is tied to that of the borough of Staten Island and the city of New York. Staten Island has always played an important role in the history of the New York Harbor. Looking out over the harbor of New York from Grymes Hill today, it is easy to imagine why so many of New York’s wealthiest families chose this location on which to build their estates and country homes. As Sir Edward Cunard sat on the front porch of his country villa (Wagner’s Cunard Hall), looking out over the harbor, he must have recognized the perfect symmetry of this area for his family. Cunard literally “watched his ships come in” every day from his magnificent retreat.

Other prominent families resided on Grymes Hill during its history. Cornelius Vanderbilt started out on Staten Island; in fact, Wagner’s current 110-acre campus encompasses 19 acres of the former Vanderbilt estate. The Horrmann family, owners of a large brewery and one of the brewer baron families on Staten Island, also built an estate on Grymes Hill, which became known as the Horrmann Castle. For many years, this landmark stood as a testament to the wealth and extravagance of these earlier elite residents of Grymes Hill. Grymes Hill derives its name from the first of these residents to settle here, Suzette Grymes, who called her mansion Capo di Monte; she built two great homes for her son and daughter along Howard Avenue.

The Grymes Hill of today retains much of the character of this earlier time. The beauty of the views has not diminished over the decades, and visitors to 91��Ƭ�� today marvel at the sweeping views of the New York Harbor which greet them as they enter the campus. New York Harbor today is filled with the same multitude of activity that characterized it in the 19th century. Many of the large houses that were built in the early part of the last century remain along Howard Avenue, and many more great homes have been added. 91��Ƭ�� has helped to maintain the open character of the Hill; its 110 acres provide the neighborhood with open green areas that are sometimes difficult to find in New York City. Wagner’s historic buildings blend seamlessly into this beautiful area. As visitors walk around the campus today, it is easy for them to see that many of Sir Edward Cunard’s reasons for settling here still exist. Grymes Hill remains today one of the most breathtaking neighborhoods of New York City.