Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Wagner, Robert T. (Robert Todd)
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Robert Todd Wagner was born on October 30, 1932, and died on January 17, 2011. He earned a degree in philosophy from Augustana College in 1954. That same year, he married Mary Mumford, a native of Howard, South Dakota, before the couple moved to Evanston, Illinois, where Wagner attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. They later returned to South Dakota, where Wagner earned his Ph.D. from South Dakota State University. Mary Wagner earned a master’s degree in social sciences in 1974 and a Ph.D. in sociology in 1978.
Wagner joined South Dakota State University in 1971 as an assistant professor of rural sociology and gained wide recognition through his Marriage 250 course. The class enrolled nearly 1,200 students annually across three sections and filled every seat in Rotunda D, the largest classroom on campus.
Wagner served two years as assistant to the vice president for academic affairs and later spent one year as vice president and chief administrator at Dakota State University in Madison. He was subsequently called back to SDSU to assume the university presidency, a position he held from 1985 to 1997.
During his presidency, Wagner guided SDSU from a period of controversy into a more stable era. His emphasis on internal academic and administrative operations, rather than external politics, contributed to significant institutional growth. Despite persistent budget constraints, the campus expanded by more than 380,000 square feet, twenty-two faculty positions were added, and technology became an increasingly central component of university operations. The College of Education and Counseling was established, and major facilities were constructed, including Berg and Bailey Apartments, the Animal Disease Research facility, and the Northern Plains Biostress Laboratory.
Mary Wagner also served as an SDSU staff member, was a member of the Brookings School Board, and represented her district as a Republican legislator for twelve years. She died in 2004.
In 2010, South Dakota State University renamed the Nursing, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Arts and Sciences building in honor of Robert and Mary Wagner, following approval by the South Dakota Board of Regents. A scholar as well as a popular teacher, Wagner authored sixty-four publications and chaired numerous academic committees.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Field of Activity: Sociology, Rural, Education, Higher
Occupation: College presidents, College teachers, Sociologists, Episcopal Church--Clergy
Associated Groups: South Dakota State University, 1971-1997