On Tuesday, March 23, Wagner College President Richard Guarasci rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the raising of $50 million in the largest campaign ever conducted in the school’s history: “Putting Wagner First.”
President Guarasci was accompanied at the Stock Exchange by several of Wagner’s key donors and friends who helped to make this milestone in the school’s history possible.
(CLICK HERE or on the screenshot above to be linked to a short video of the ceremony posted on our YouTube channel, WagnerCollegeNYC, courtesy of the NYSE.)
“Putting Wagner First: The Campaign for Wagner College” was launched in October 2007 with a gala event in the Great Hall at New York City’s Ellis Island. It has been the most ambitious — and most successful — fundraiser in Wagner’s history.
“The future of this gem of a college is in our hands,” said President Guarasci of the campaign. “We can take comfort in our achievements and rest on our laurels — a sure path to mediocrity — or we can find the resources to leverage these accomplishments, endow them, and further shape this very special college to better serve the students who choose to study here, the faculty who come here to teach, and our alumni, who are living what they have learned here in their personal and professional lives.”
March 24, 2010
HUM-DINGER! WAGNER HITS $50M GOAL
President rings closing bell on Wall Street to mark fundraising success
By AMISHA PADNANI
When the closing bell sounded at the New York Stock Exchange today, it signified more than the end of another grueling day at the market.
It reverberated the success at Wagner College, which raised a record amount of money through its most recent fundraising campaign.
It just so happened the person ringing the bell was Wagner College President Richard Guarasci.
“It’s very exciting for the school,” he said. “It marks a wonderful moment.”
Thanks to parents, alumni and other generous private donors, the college raised $50 million faster than administrators expected. They launched the campaign in October 2007 with the hope of raising the funds by this coming August.
Guarasci said the school launched the campaign at Ellis Island because many of the alumni’s parents and grandparents had come through there and it symbolized the struggles they faced. Likewise, he said, it seemed fitting to celebrate at the New York Stock Exchange today because Wall Street represented the American dream.
“We felt there was a continuity of mission between what the child of Wagner had experienced and how they used Wagner to enhance their lives, move ahead and be successful,” Guarasci said.
Myra Garcia, the school’s vice president for Institutional Advancement, said the school will use the money to enhance facilities, including the main building, expand staff and provide more scholarship opportunities to students.
“It’s been a tough couple of years with the way the economy has gone,” she said yesterday. “I feel very gratified that Wagner alumni and friends have stood by the college for so long and continued to show their support. It is a really joyous occasion for Wagner today.”
President Richard Guarasci and a Wagner College contingent celebrate Grymes Hill school's good fortune at the New York Stock Exchange.
(Photo courtesy NYSE)
Wagner College rings NYSE closing bell
March 23, 2010
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