The Wagner College Guild has a new crest. The original idea was roughly sketched some years ago by alumni director and all-around Wagner booster John D. “Bunny” Barbes ’39. Last year, the Guild hired an artist to take Bunny’s idea and create a polished, final version, which was completed in January.
Not familiar with the Wagner College Guild?
Well, ever since Wagner College moved to Staten Island in 1918, the local chapter of the Guild has provided support to the college and its students. In the early days, it provided meals for the college’s hungry young men. In 1922, when a Pennsylvania miners’ strike created a shortage of coal throughout New York City, Guild members paid an outstanding fuel bill to keep campus buildings warm. Guild dues and gifts have furnished dorm and infirmary rooms. Guild members have hosted holiday dinners for students who could not return home at Thanksgiving and Christmastime. In 1946, with postwar enrollment skyrocketing, Guild members pitched in to create a student luncheonette, the Guil-den, forerunner of the Hawk’s Nest, that offered homemade soup and sandwiches. And in 1951, Wagner’s new women’s residence facility, Guild Hall, was dedicated. We could continue recounting the Guild’s historic good deeds all day, but you get the idea.
Today’s Wagner Guild, with about 50 regular members, meets four times a year for luncheon programs open to everyone, and an annual members-only reception at Nicolais House, the home of President Araimo. Past Guild fundraising has endowed the Lila T. Barbes ’40 Wagner College Guild Scholarship, which is awarded to two students each year. Current activities support the Make a Difference Fund, which provides short-term, emergency financial assistance to students in need so that they may continue their education without interruption.
To find out more about the Wagner Guild — or to become a member — email Kaitlin Girton at kgirton@wagner.edu.
