GENERAL COVERAGE
May 5 — Shark Nation Radio — Adam Taxin of the internet radio station Shark Nation Radio interviewed Wagner College modern languages professor Margarita Sanchez to learn what the holiday, Cinco de Mayo, is really all about.
May 8 — WalletHub — WalletHub.com senior writer and editor John Kiernan interviewed Bernadette Ludwig, assistant professor of sociology and director of the civic engagement minor at Wagner College, for his story, “2017’s Best & Worst States for Working Moms.”
May 20 — Staten Island Advance — A two-page open spread (that is, without advertisements) told the story, in words and pictures, of our 2017 commencement program, which featured honorary degrees for two Wagner alums: recent Philadelphia D.A. candidate Rich Negrin ’88 and trustee board chairman Warren Procci ’68.
June 6 — New York 1 — The New York City-wide cable news channel aired a story about Wagner College alumna Brooke Guinan ’08, the city’s first transgender firefighter and the Fire Department of New York’s first LGBTQ outreach coordinator. Now, Guinan has another title: Grand Marshal of this year's New York City Pride Parade.
Aug. 2 — Staten Island Advance — After Wagner College announced the passing in late July of benefactor and trustee chairman emeritus Don Spiro, the Staten Island Advance followed suit with a front-page box linking to a news story and obituary inside.
Aug. 12 & 14 — Advance & NY1 — Both local news organizations produced stories about a Wagner College event: an unusual two-artist exhibition in the Horrmann Library’s Spotlight Gallery featuring the father-daughter duo of Dennis and Kerri Sheheen.
Aug. 12 — Voice of America — Veteran Voice of America journalist Bruce Alpert set out to produce a story for the VOA Learning English website about how American universities prepare their students for professions where competition for jobs is notoriously fierce — which is how he ended up including Wagner College Theatre chairwoman Felicia Ruff among his five sources. The story also featured two pieces of Wagner College photography.
Aug. 18 — The Guardian — Prompted by stories on the Web about alumni efforts at Lehigh University to get trustees to rescind the honorary doctorate awarded some years before to Donald Trump, reporter Adam Gabbatt looked into whether the other two American universities that awarded honors to Trump — Liberty University and Wagner College — were considering similar action. Wagner College had no comment for the story.
Aug. 24 & 25 — Staten Island Advance — Advance photojournalist Jan Somma-Hammel and education reporter Diane Lore prepared a video-and-print package celebrating the Class of 2021’s entry into college life on Move-In Day. See the video here (And, FYI, the empty beer case shown in the video was used for moving, not for contraband!)
Sept. 6 — Advance — Society columnist Carol Ann Benanti previews the upcoming Da Vinci Society scholarship and awards banquet.
Sept. 12 — Daily Orange — The Syracuse University daily newspaper consulted Wagner College government professor Cyril Ghosh for a news story about a lawsuit filed by New York’s attorney general defending DACA, accusing Trump of racial bias. Ghosh, who earned master’s and doctorate degrees from Syracuse, is the author of “The Politics of the American Dream: Democratic Inclusion in Contemporary American Political Culture” (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2013) and serves as the New York State Political Science Association’s section chair for “Identity Politics.”
Sept. 14 — Advance — The Advance reported on an agreement between Richmond County D.A. Michael McMahon and the heads of Staten Island's three universities, including Wagner College President Richard Guarasci, designed to give sexual assault survivors a wider array of options.
Sept. 16 — New York 1 — This kinescope recording shows the story New York 1 aired about this year’s Harry Potter Day of Service at Wagner College, organized by senior Kathleen Thieme, co-editor this year of the Wagnerian.
Sept. 28 — Advance — A news story covers the 2017 Da Vinci Society scholarship and honors dinner.
COLLEGE RANKINGS
Aug. 4 — Staten Island Advance — Wagner College was featured in the 2018 Princeton Review “Best 382 Colleges” guide, and its theater program was ranked number 4 in the country.
Sept. 14 — Advance, College Rankings — In the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges guide, Wagner College was ranked in the top 25 percent among northern regional universities and was tagged as a “best value.” Wagner was also recognized for national excellence in the category of Service Learning.
CAREY INSTITUTE FOR GOVERNMENT REFORM
April 6 — CUNY-TV — Wagner College Trustee Seymour P. Lachman, former New York state senator and founding director (now dean emeritus) of the college’s Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform, was interviewed for the CUNY-TV program, “Building N.Y.: New York Stories with Michael Stoler,” about his new book, “Failed State: Dysfunction and Corruption in an American State House.”
April 25 — CNBC — Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow with the Carey Institute, looks way, way ahead to the 2020 presidential election, considering how a primary challenge could undo Donald Trump.
May 4 — Bangor (Maine) Daily News — In this op-ed essay, Spivak examines a new Maine law designed to allow recall elections that might actually reduce the ability of Mainers to recall local officials. (Spivak, by the way, is a nationally renowned expert in recall elections.)
May 7 — WNYM-AM — Conservative talk radio personality John Catsimatidis interviewed Seymour Lachman about his new book, “Failed State.”
May 10 — (New Orleans) Times-Picayune — Joshua Spivak looks at a proposed change in Louisiana recall law that, theoretically, could make a big difference for state voters looking to oust elected officials — but the record shows that it is not likely to result in an outpouring of new recalls.
May 17 — Wall Street Journal — After a few months of contentious White House briefings by press secretary Sean Spicer, Joshua Spivak considers the question, “Who needs the daily press briefing?” He suggests that ending it would be good for everyone — except the president.
May 18 — Homer (Alaska) Tribune — Spivak writes that, while recall elections have been used nearly two dozen times in Alaska and have been successful 17 times, a new attempt to recall three city councilors from Homer may not meet the requirements of state law.
June 11 — (Albany, N.Y.) Times Union — Seymour Lachman wrote a “pro” op-ed for a pro/con editorial debate over the state constitutional convention referendum that will appear on this November’s general election ballot in New York state.
Aug. 28 — Los Angeles Times — Spivak writes about a Republican effort to reverse the outcome of a close race for the California state senate by recall election, reviewing the Golden State's long and storied history with the recall.
Sept. 8 — CNBC — Spivak writes about the increasingly complicated picture of Donald Trump’s presidency, from the Russia investigation to his pardoning of former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Sept. 27 — Crain’s N.Y. Business — A follow-up story on a recent federal appeals court decision vacating an earlier corruption conviction of disgraced former N.Y. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver asked Empire State good-government advocates for their reactions. Seymour Lachman joined with others in saying that the decision reinforced the importance of approving a November ballot measure calling for a state constitutional convention to reform a deeply corrupt state government.
HOLOCAUST CENTER / CHAI SOCIETY
April 25 — New York 1 — New York 1 aired a story about Wagner College’s observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, sponsored by the college’s Holocaust Center.
May 12 — New York 1 — The local cable news channel aired a story about the 2017 Wagner College Chai Society Community Mitzvah Awards, one of which was given to NY1 Executive Editor Melissa Rabinovich.
Sept. 11 — silive.com — On September 10, Wagner College students in the Holocaust studies learning community celebrated Rosh Hashanah with Holocaust survivors and the Staten Island Jewish community. Watch the video report by Advance reporter Shira Stoll. Published on silive.com, the Staten Island Advance website.
PORT RICHMOND PARTNERSHIP / 30 THOUSAND DEGREES
April 30 — Staten Island Advance — Wagner College alumna, journalism professor and Advance education writer Claire Regan visited Port Richmond’s P.S. 21, the newest link in the “30,000 Degrees” college-readiness program, which seeks to help more Staten Islanders earn 4-year college degrees. Wagner College is one of three partners in 30,000 Degrees, along with St. John’s University and the College of Staten Island.
July 28 — Staten Island Advance — Advance education writer Diane Lore reported on the inclusion of Port Richmond High School, a Wagner College partner in the 30,000 Degrees college readiness program, in New York City’s new College Access for All initiative.
Aug. 1 & 2 — NY1 & Advance — Two news stories — one aired on New York 1, the other published in the Staten Island Advance — reported on a mural painted on the wall of Port Richmond High School by ten PRHS students in collaboration with Staten Island Arts and Wagner College’s Port Richmond Partnership Leadership Academy. The theme? “Unity.”
