Provost Office: Memorandum
To: All Faculty, Staff, annd Students
From: Dr Stephen Director, Provost
Subject: In Memoriam: Brian L. Wagner
Date: 11 July 2005
Brian L. Wagner, Associate Professor and Interim Head of Visual Studies (CoMAD), died early Friday morning in his Chestnut Hill home. Professor Wagner graduated from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1969, and earned an MFA in painting from the University of Pennsylvania. He was hired as a full-time faculty member at Drexel in 1987. His passions included Native American history and artifacts, regional archeology, and early American glass.
A prolific artist in a variety of media, among his most noted works was the transformation of more than five thousand collected broomsticks into architecturally-scaled structures, assembled with the assistance of groups of students, at Drexel and at other schools of art as an invited artist.
Mr. Wagner was honored for his teaching in 2002 when he received a University award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for a Senior Faculty. He was also a leader in University-wide efforts to support and encourage teaching excellence, and was active in numerous activities for the Faculty Senate where he served as chair of Faculty Affairs and co-chair of Faculty Development. He was named interim head in the department of Visual Studies in 2003, a position he held until his death.
Diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2004, Mr. Wagner took sabbatical leave while he worked on a number of creative projects and underwent treatment. He was able to return full-time to administrative and teaching duties in the spring term 2005. A retrospective exhibition of his work, entitled Accumulations, was held in the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery on Drexe's campus in April and May 2005, including an installation of the 5000 Broomsticks. His sudden death came as a shock to those who had watched him rebound from treatment and resume a wide range of activity.
Mr. Wagner is survived by his mother, Sarah, a brother, Gary, and numerous friends and students. There will be a non-sectarian memorial service for Brian this Tuesday, July 12th, at 7:00 PM at the Jacob Ruth Funeral Home, 8413 Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Drexel University for a fund to be established in Brian's memory. A memorial service is being planned for the fall at the University.