Deane Scholars Award

Deane Scholar's Award

What is the Deane Scholar Program?

The Deane Scholar Program is designed to support student projects that green Wagner College’s campus and/or address issues of environmental injustice in our North Shore Community of Staten Island. The program is funded through the Deane Endowment, a gift made by the late John Deane ’53 (1923–2009) to support teaching and learning about the environment.

- Individuals or Teams: Whether you’re flying solo or prefer teamwork, the choice is yours. You can apply individually or team up with two other peers.
- Faculty Support: Every individual or team participating will have the logistical and visionary support of a faculty member.
- Tackling Climate Change: Dive into a project aimed at addressing one of the most urgent challenges of our era – climate change. Your efforts will contribute towards making a tangible impact on this pressing issue.
- Skill Development: Engage in a hands-on learning experience where you’ll hone essential skills sought after by both employers and graduate programs. From project planning to implementation, you’ll gain valuable expertise every step of the way.
- Course Integration: Projects can seamlessly integrate with unit-earning courses, providing an opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-world issues.
- Honors Projects: Projects can serve as Honors Projects, allowing students to delve deeper into their areas of interest under the guidance of faculty mentors. This avenue offers a platform for ambitious scholarly exploration.
- Student-Group Initiatives: Collaborate with fellow students on initiatives driven by student groups.
- Flexibility: While projects may align with coursework, they are not restricted to it.
- Showcase Opportunity: Present your project at the College’s annual Celebration of Scholarly & Artistic Student Work, where you can share your insights, experiences, and accomplishments with the wider community.
- Financial Support: The program offers financial support of up to $3000 per project, with a maximum of two projects per recipient.
- Utilization of Funds: Funds can be utilized for various purposes, including purchasing supplies, securing expert assistance, organizing on-campus outreach events, supporting community initiatives, and providing stipends for project participants.
- Accessibility: Funds are accessible for use in the following academic year, providing ample time for project planning, execution, and evaluation.
- Applicant(s) must be in good academic standing with Wagner College.
- Applicant(s) may work individually or in groups (no more than 3 people).
- Applicant(s) must seek out a faculty sponsor to assist with project management and
  execution.
- Applicant(s) awarded funding must complete their project within the academic year
  following the submission of the application. If an emergency, transfer, or unavoidable
  conflict occurs during the execution of the project, please contact one of faculty
  members of the Deane Scholarship Review Committee immediately.
Complete applications require four elements:
1. Cover Sheet
2. Proposed Budget
3. Short Essay (750 words)
4. Resume/CV for each Project Member
Once the application is complete, it should be saved as a single pdf document titled
“Project_name_year.”

The deadline for the application is April 15.
- Send your application by email to brett.palfreyman@wagner.edu.

Who is John Deane?

John Deane ’53 was a Wagner alumnus and CPA and spent most of his career as an auditor and controller in the film industry. In retirement, he devoted himself to cultivating an organic garden, which led to his abiding interest in environmental causes.

John Deane was particularly committed to preserving and improving the environment in his home community of Staten Island. The devoted gardener and composting expert was one of those tapped to serve in the 1990s on the Solid Waste Advisory Board, which helped close the huge New York City landfill on Staten Island.

Learn more about John

Spring 2024 Winners:
Academic Year 24-25 Winners

The Seahawk Closet

Athanasia Theofilopoulos and Haley O’Toole, faculty advisor Celeste Gagnon

Athansaia and Haley intend build out a closet of formal clothing that Wagner Students can borrow for job interviews, conferences, and other kinds of professional settings. This project achieves both the goals of justice – in providing a crucial resource to students in need – as well as sustainability – in that it recycles and reuses clothing, which is a surprisingly large contributor to landfills.

Stop Food Waste and Preserve Food on Campus

Artan Shaini, Asia Wickramanayake, and Jasmine Adbelkarim, Faculty Advisor Tav Hawkins

Artan, Asia, and Jasmine plan to create an on campus food pantry that may be used by any member of the Wagner Community. They hope to recapture food that might be wasted otherwise, and get it into the hands of people who need it.

Guttu Garden Revitalization Project

Hailey Copestick, Abraham Lopes, and Red Sullivan and Faculty Advisor Adam Jadhav

The Guttu Garden is right across the Sutter Oval from Spiro Sports Center. Hailey, Abraham, and Red plan to bring this space back to life and make it an attraction on campus, with new installations of native plants, edible fruits, and usable amenities like benches, hammocks, and even a chess table. It will be wonderful to see the Guttu Garden once again become a usable place for education, relaxation, and getting our hands dirty.

Leadership Garden Project

Humi Europa and Allison Naylor, faculty advisor Lori Weintrob

The Leadership Garden is over between Parker Hall and Foundation Hall. It’s there to help us remember injustices of the past, uch as the Holocaust, and to celebrate transformative leaders who have fought to overcome injustice, like Nelson Mandela. Humi and Allison will be inviting a group of 6th and 7th graders from New World Prep School in Port Richmond to come to campus and revamp the garden, plant new flowers, and share stories of leadership.