Mourning the loss of Trustee Emerita Angela Jaggar '62, MA '65, PhD

I'm saddened to share the news that Adelphi University Board of Trustees Member Emerita Angela Jaggar '62, MA '65, PhD, passed away on Monday, September 1, 2025.

Remembered fondly for her intellect, generosity and warmth, Angela's transformative impact on the University and our students will endure for generations to come. She served with distinction as a member of our Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2020. Angela and her late husband, Scott Jaggar, are members of Adelphi's Million Dollar Roundtable, having made lifetime contributions exceeding $1 million to the University. Together, they established the Angela and Scott Jaggar Scholarship for students in financial need and committed $875,000 to support the Jaggar Community Fellows Program, which was named in their honor. Angela later established the Louise and Joseph Maestri Scholarship Fund, in honor of her parents, to benefit students studying early childhood literacy.

The Jaggar Community Fellows Program, established in 2013, is perhaps the best representation of Angela's commitment to student success and to supporting the non-profit ecosystem within our region. Each year, the program offers up to 70 Adelphi students life-changing paid internships at local non-profit organizations, enabling them to serve the community while gaining meaningful, hands-on career experience.

Angela began her career as an elementary school teacher in Plainview, Long Island, after graduating from Adelphi. She then earned a PhD and entered the field of higher education, teaching and conducting research in children's language and literacy development at New York University. During more than 30 years at NYU, she co-founded the University's Reading Recovery Project, which she co-directed for 10 years. Angela has held numerous leadership roles in professional education associations throughout her career, including serving as president of the National Conference on Research in Language and Literacy. Her book, Observing the Language Learner, remains a widely read resource in the field.

She was also actively involved in several non-profits that serve children, education, and the arts, including as a board member of the Family and Children's Association, Women on the Job, Literacy Volunteers of NYC (now Literacy Partners) and the Belmont Childcare Association.

I was fortunate to get to know Angela in recent years, having connected with her at the many Adelphi functions she attended and at Usdan, a Long Island summer camp for the Arts. We were especially grateful that she was able to join us at last year's Gala as we celebrated her extraordinary legacy of philanthropy and unveiled the new Million Dollar Roundtable display in Nexus. I came to know her as a wonderful individual with a quick wit and deep integrity.

The Adelphi University Board of Trustees and I send our deepest condolences to Angela's brother, George Maestri; nieces Kristen, Nicole, Lisa and Kathy; nephews John, Thomas and Michael; and her many dear friends. Maggie Yoon Grafer, associate vice president for University Advancement & External Relations, attended private services on behalf of the University.

With sympathy,
Chris

Christopher Storm, PhD
Interim President