By Sarah Goldfarb
Together, our Wagner community achieved remarkable milestones this year, with celebrations of new beginnings and accomplishments — and emotional goodbyes.
Angelo’s announcement

President Angelo Araimo — who will be celebrating nearly 30 years at Wagner College next month — announced in September that he will retire after this school year. The search for the next president Wagner College is progressing on schedule.
“Wagner is special because of its people, you,” Araimo wrote. “And our campus and location on Grymes Hill in Staten Island make us truly unique. I am confident that these factors, alongside the transformational efforts we have made in recent years, will enable us to identify and recruit an extraordinary 21st president to guide Wagner forward.”
By the numbers
Here is a look at some 2023 Wagner stats:
- Students — including the 410 first-year students and 100 new transfer students we welcomed this fall — continued to build a diverse campus community this year.
- Wagner College’s nursing program — founded in 1943 — celebrated 80 years in 2023. Roughly a third of Wagner College’s students, whether they are working on their Bachelor of Science in Nursing straight out of high school, pursuing the Family Nurse Practitioner degree as a graduate, or crossing the stage with a Doctorate of Nursing Practice, attend the widely successful program.
- At Wagner, our students were involved with a variety of events inside and outside the classroom: Wagner College Theatre produced eight productions across its two venues, welcoming 5,435 audience members. The 2023-24 season kicked off in October with Pippin, entertaining more than 1,600 attendees.
- More than 600 student-athletes represented the Seahawks — with women’s soccer and field hockey playing in the NEC finals.
- Students spent 525,600 minutes attending Student Engagement & Activities events.
- In May, we celebrated students’ years of hard work and diligence with 684 Seahawks graduating and officially becoming alums.
- Wagner field hockey forward Laura van Hamburg in action against Holy Cross on September 9, 2023. The Seahawks toppled top-seeded Fairfield in the NEC tournament last month before falling in the final.
- Wagner College Theatre mounted “The Prom,” directed by Emma Pittman, in spring 2023.
Bright spots on and off campus
Campus visitors noticed major investments throughout Grymes Hill this year, with Guild Hall getting a refresh, Harborview Hall undergoing a renovation, new seating in the Hawk’s Nest and the Planetarium reopening after a significant upgrade.
Finally, our alums shined in the courtroom (Michael Pinto ’10 won a seat on the Staten Island Civil Court bench), on social media (fashion influencer and TikTok star Morgan Riddle ’19 had an incredible year, including an NY Times Style cover story and a NY Post article featuring a photo shoot on campus) and in the NFL Draft (where the Indianapolis Colts selected Wagner defensive end Titus Leo ’23 in the sixth round).
It was, indeed, another impressive year at Wagner College, setting us up for an exciting 2024, when a batch of Seahawks will become alums after commencement, a new president will succeed a beloved longtime Wagner leader, and we will welcome a new class of Wagner students.