fall 2018 - marist college

from THE OFFICE of PRESIDENT YELLEN

FALL 2018 UPDATE

FALL 2018 UPDATE from THE OFFICE of PRESIDENT YELLEN FALL 2018 UPDATE from THE OFFICE of PRESIDENT YELLEN2 3

MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVESMARIST AND HEALTH QUEST LAUNCH MEDICAL SCHOOL

I am excited to announce that the College is partnering with Health Quest, the region’s premier healthcare provider, to launch the Marist Health Quest School of Medicine. We have taken this historic decision after more than a year of intensive study and the approval of both organizations’ boards.

The Marist Health Quest School of Medicine aspires to become a nationally

recognized leader in technology-enabled medical education. This unique partnership will push the boundaries of healthcare by focusing on where medicine is going, not where it has been. Through the use of Marist’s advanced learning management systems and the addition of artificial intelligence, we will transform the traditional medical school model, ultimately leading to physicians better prepared for the future.

Now is an opportune time to launch

a medical school because there is significant physician demand at both the national and regional levels. In addition, there are no MD-granting medical schools in New York State between Albany and Westchester County. The Marist Health Quest School of Medicine will help meet this strong demand for doctors. A partnership between Marist and Health Quest also makes great sense. Both are dynamic and highly respected organizations with long histories in the Hudson Valley. Our missions, visions, and values are closely aligned, and our combination of deep expertise in academics and healthcare, respectively, is powerful.

We believe the Marist Health Quest School of Medicine will provide major benefits to both the College and the Hudson Valley. With only 151 MD-granting medical schools in the country, Marist is set to join an exclusive academic, research, and clinical community. Our already strong and growing science programs will greatly benefit from the addition of a medical school. An academic medical center will attract a highly accomplished

I hope everyone is having a good semester. I would like to bring you up to date on some of the recent accomplishments and activities at Marist. It is an exciting and dynamic time to be at the College, and I am extremely proud of the great work being done by our students, faculty, and staff. Thank you for everything you do to advance Marist’s mission.

FALL 2018 UPDATE from the Office of President Yellen

MARIST EXPANDS INTO NEW YORK CITY WITH EXECUTIVE CENTER

Marist has made the strategic decision to expand into New York City by purchasing 18,000 square feet of space at 420 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. This space encompasses the entire 14th floor of the building, which is situated at the corner of 38th Street near Bryant Park in a key commuter area convenient to Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, and the Port Authority.

The space will be the future home of the Marist College Executive Center and will serve as a central New York City location for our innovative academic offerings for graduate, adult, undergraduate, and corporate programs. Additionally, it will serve as a featured location for prominent events such as our Fashion Program’s ongoing involvement with New York Fashion Week, programs featuring the nationally recognized Marist Poll, seminar and lecture series, receptions, and alumni networking events.

The premier New York City location will allow us to expand a wide variety of our programs, including the very popular Marist in Manhattan internship program and the School of Management’s Career Trek, which connects business students with potential employers in New York City. Marist’s ties to New York City are numerous, and our new Executive Center in Midtown will allow us do even more to connect our comprehensive academic and professional education programs to that large market. We anticipate that the Center will open its initial phase in spring 2019.

population of medical students, residents, and clinical faculty, many of whom will remain in the Hudson Valley. Local community members will enjoy increased access to top-quality healthcare close to home. Finally, the medical school will bring economic benefits to our region in the form of more than 100 full-time jobs and numerous additional part-time opportunities.

The Marist Health Quest School of Medicine will be located on the Vassar Brothers Medical Center campus in Poughkeepsie. We plan to construct a 100,000-square-foot building, which will be finished in time to seat the first class of medical students in the summer of 2022. These students will also use some facilities on the Marist campus. Beginning immediately, we will work to secure all of the necessary accreditations and approvals, hire a Dean and other key staff members, and launch our recruiting efforts.

This exciting new initiative brings a world of opportunity and possibility to the College. Marist’s growing expertise in the health sciences has led us to this historic moment, and I hope you share my enthusiasm for what lies ahead. Let me also reaffirm Marist’s strong commitment to undergraduate education,

our belief in high-quality teaching, and our emphasis on providing students with unique learning opportunities. This is the College’s core mission, and it will remain so. The Marist Health Quest School of Medicine is simply the next step in Marist’s journey to becoming a world-

class educational institution.

I encourage you to visit www.MaristHQmedschool.org to watch a video announcement and to find out more information.

(l-r): Ross Mauri, Chair of the Marist Board; Dr. Glenn Loomis, Chief Medical Operations Officer,

Health Quest; President David Yellen; Robert Friedberg, President and CEO, Health Quest; Executive Vice President Geoff Brackett; Greg Rakow, Chair of the Health Quest Board

MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVES


ACADEMIC AFFAIRSNEWS FROM ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

In allied health news, Marist’s Physician Assistant (PA) program reached a milestone this summer by graduating its first cohort of 36 students. To reach this point, students had to successfully complete a rigorous two-year curriculum consisting of didactic and clinical phases. Before marching behind a School of Science banner at Commencement, the graduates received their long white coats in a special ceremony in the Fusco Recital Hall. Prior to beginning work as physician assistants, all graduates must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), and we are pleased to report that all 36 students passed this challenging examination on their first attempt. Congratulations to all!

| Marist’s first graduating class of PAs

This fall, the School of Computer Science and Mathematics launched a BS in Cybersecurity, which offers Marist students the opportunity to study the application of computer science and information technology in improving the security of data processing, storage, and communication networks. Featured topics include cryptography, cyberwarfare, ethical hacking, penetration testing, computer forensics, mobile and wireless security, and security design/management for databases, web commerce, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (e.g., smart cars, drones, GPS navigators, and home assistants such as Alexa, Siri, and Cortana).

As part of the new degree program, undergraduates will study in Marist’s new Security Operations Center (SOC), a high-tech classroom devoted to education and research in computer security. Using examples taken from real-world data, students will learn how to use security platforms from industry partners such as IBM, Cisco, and BlackRidge Technologies, as well as developing

and testing their own software. Students will study recent examples of real-world cyberattacks during the “hack of the week” portion of the curriculum. Examples include studying attacks against electric power plants and hacking airplanes from the in-flight wifi. These skills are practiced in a safe, isolated cloud environment. Students can also apply for paid on-campus internships in cybersecurity research through the Marist/IBM Joint Study, supported by industry partnerships with IBM and BlackRidge Technologies and by grant

funding from the National Science Foundation. These internships provide valuable research opportunities, and they have resulted in Marist students traveling to conferences at MIT and abroad to present their work.

This new undergraduate major is part of a series of programs designed to engage students with an interest in the growing field cybersecurity. Undergraduates from any school on campus can choose a minor in cybersecurity, consisting of six courses worth 24 credits. Over the summer, Marist offered a two-week

NEW ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

|SOC opening press conference

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

residential cybersecurity program for high school juniors and seniors interested in earning college credit. Graduates or adult learners can also earn a New York State-approved certification in cybersecurity by completing three online courses offered by Marist’s Institute of Data Center Professionals (IDCP). The College is exploring offering the IDCP certificate at Marist’s new New York City location.

In May, the inaugural class of Marist’s new Master of Science in Professional Accountancy began their studies. The initial class is composed of 10 graduates from the College’s Class of 2018 who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, and they are now completing graduate studies in one of the most accelerated programs in the country. The MS program has a unique format: Summer classes are divided into two five-week sessions and one two-week online session. After completing the summer classes, students take the remaining classes online during the fall and/or spring semesters. Entering the

accounting profession with a graduate degree leads to better job opportunities more quickly, so the program fills a clear need in the marketplace.

The School of Management has also responded to a growing job market for nonprofit administrators and data analysis experts by adding two new concentrations in its Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, Nonprofit Management and Analytics. By adding these concentrations, the MPA program is offering expanded career paths to professionals of all stripes.

Nonprofit organizations play a crucial role in society, and their leaders now have the opportunity to enhance their professional competencies in a program

geared specifically toward this sector. The nonprofit management concentration provides an overview of how nonprofit agencies differ from public and for-profit entities in mission, governance, funding, and staffing, and will consider current issues facing the nonprofit sector. The new analytics concentration allows for an in-depth study of the critical issues related to managing data in organizations. The concept of data as a resource, the data environment, the database approach, and the need for data modeling are all examined in detail.

|Inaugural cohort for the MS in Professional Accountancy

|The Marist Singers performing at the World Choral Fest in Salzburg Cathedral

THE MARIST SINGERS TOUR AUSTRIA

In June, a group of 30 Marist students and recent alumni from the College’s choral program made the trip of a lifetime to Austria, sharing their musical talents in the land of Mozart, Haydn, and Schubert. The Marist Singers, led by Director of Choral Activities Sarah Williams, gave several public concerts at prestigious venues in Vienna, Mondsee, Hallstatt, and Eisenstadt before heading to Mozart’s hometown of Salzburg to participate in the World Choral Fest, the aim of which is “bringing the world together in song.” The festival culminated in a dramatic performance of both classic and new choral works inside the elegant Salzburg Cathedral, where the public treated them to a standing ovation.

Among the trip’s highlights: visits to Mozart’s birthplace and to the graves of Beethoven, Brahms, and Haydn; a performance in the Esterhazy Palace in the very room where Haydn played his music; and a performance in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, where Mozart served as music director and where his funeral was held. As part of World Choral Fest 2018, the Singers had the opportunity to practice and perform with vocalists from the United States and Austria and to sing the world premiere of composer Dan Forrest’s “Non Nobis Domine.” They also performed Forrest’s “Jubilate Deo,” a choral work in seven parts, and selections from Mozart. As an artistic and cultural journey, the Marist group’s experience was both wholly unique and extremely meaningful.

|The Marist Singers in St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna

Research shows that job growth is expected to be greater than average in these areas.


ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

IMPACTFUL SUMMER EXPERIENCES

|Margaret and Donald Calista, pictured with past years’ Tarver Interns

Service and experiential learning are key components of the Marist educational experience, and for the fifth consecutive year, the Tarver Summer Internship Program has given undergraduates the opportunity to work on a community improvement project by interning at a local non-profit organization. The program is coordinated by the Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership (CCEL), directed by Professional Lecturer in Political Science Melissa Gaeke. Tarver Interns work closely with their Marist faculty sponsor and non-profit site supervisor to design an internship project, identify the key issues their work will address, and complete agreed-upon goals and objectives. This year’s faculty mentors were Associate Professor of Political Science Jessica Boscarino, Assistant Professor of Spanish Patricia Ferrer, and Associate Professor of Social Work Daria Hanssen.

This summer, six students completed internships with community partners Scenic Hudson, Hudson River Housing, the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie, the Grace Smith House, the Children’s Center in Dutchess Family Court, and the Poughkeepsie Farm Project. Under Melissa’s leadership, the CCEL also secured a $15,000 grant from the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, which will enable four first-generation students to take part in the Tarver Summer Internship Program by working with area literacy groups. During the 2017-18 academic year, Marist students and faculty contributed more than 9,000 hours of civic engagement work in collaboration with 20 community partners. This fall, the CCEL is facilitating community-based learning in 14 courses, addressing a wide range of topics. The Tarver Program was established and continues to enjoy generous support from Margaret Calista, retired Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Donald Calista, retired Professor of Public Administration in the School of Management.

|The 2018 Tarver Interns

The College’s Albany Summer Internship Program (ASIP) gave 12 Marist undergraduates the rewarding opportunity of completing six-week internships in New York State’s capital. During their time there, the students completed a three-credit seminar course and worked four days a week with a partner organization matching their interests, including the National Alliance for Mental Illness, Environmental Advocates, the National Association of Social Workers, and the office of New York State Senator Sue Serino. ASIP Director Krista Applebee led field trips to the Executive Mansion and to Albany Law School. During the latter trip, students met with Marist alumnus Jeff Schanz ’94/’99M, who serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Albany Law School. Jeff majored in political science as an undergraduate and eventually went on to earn his MPA at Marist. ASIP students also visited with senior executives at the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, international law firm Greenberg Traurig, and Spectrum News.

|Albany Summer Internship Program participants with Jeff Schanz ’94/’99M

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

|L-R: August Unger ’21, Tim Hoang ‘20, Brian Nolan ‘19, James Pulver ‘19, Brian Haughey, Sean Haughey TD (Irish member of Parliament), John Finnigan, Maritza Puzino ‘20, Dan Confreda ‘20, Emily Hoctor ‘20, Hailey Guinn ‘20, Tristen Cascio ‘20. Pictured at Leinster House, home of Dail Eireann (the Irish Parliament).

While many Marist students study abroad, the School of Management’s Aspire (Accelerated Summer Program - International Residential Experience) program is aimed at finance and accounting students who may find it difficult to fit an entire semester abroad into their schedules, as well as those who wish to accelerate their coursework. By completing certain courses by the end of sophomore year, participants have more flexibility to take advanced electives such as the Greystone Equity student-managed fund class, or to compete for internships. Nine students participated in 2018, the third year Marist has offered Aspire and the first to be hosted in Dublin, Ireland (the first two were run in Florence, Italy). The program included six weeks of coursework taught by School of Management faculty Brian Haughey and John Finnigan at the International College Dublin Business School. Weekend excursions brought the group to Belfast and Cong, as well as notable seaside towns, cliffs, and castles. They also attended both houses of the Irish Parliament.

In keeping with Marist’s commitment to advancing the social good, the School of Science partnered with the Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies over summer to host a program encouraging high school students from underrepresented groups to consider science careers. The six-week program consisted of a short residential “boot camp” on the Marist campus before engaging students in research activities focused on urban stream ecology. In addition to the high school students, program participants included research scientists, high school teachers, and undergraduate students working in a tiered mentorship model. The program served as a pilot to gauge the potential of this approach, and Marist and Cary expect to expand the program in the future by including additional local institutions and students.

MARIST INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC OPINIONThe team at the Marist Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO), which includes more than 300 student interviewers and supervisors, has been gearing up for this fall’s midterm elections. Along with its battleground state polling partner NBC News, The Marist Poll has already begun tracking public opinion in key states across the nation. The NBC News/Marist Poll began monitoring hotly contested midterm races for U.S. Senate and governor in June and has 12 battleground state polls under its belt. Polling results are often first released on NBC’s Today and MSNBC’s Meet the Press Daily, and are also prominently featured on NBC’s multimedia platforms. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, there will be much more to come from the NBC News/Marist Poll.

The Marist Poll is also pleased to have renewed its relationship with national polling partners NPR and The PBS NewsHour. During the spring semester, the NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll took Americans’ pulse on many issues facing the nation, including President Donald Trump’s job performance, the job performances of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the relationship of the United States with Russia, gun policy, and the midterm elections. Along with NPR, The Marist Poll also conducted a special project focusing on the prominence of the digital marketplace in American society. NPR and The Marist Poll have another special project in the works centered on election security.

|Participants in the Marist-Cary Institute summer pre-college program


This year also marks the re-election bid of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who faced a primary challenge from Cynthia Nixon. The Marist Poll monitored the contest with local polling partner NBC 4 New York, and MIPO Director Lee Miringoff provided expert primary-night analysis on local media, including WCBS Newsradio 880.

Lee is also a contributor to a new venture put forth by TheHill.com. On a monthly basis, he will appear on the digital broadcast What America’s Thinking, hosted by journalist Joe Concha. The show discusses public opinion in relation to the pressing issues of the day.

The Marist Poll’s podcast Poll Hub recently celebrated its first anniversary. During the spring and summer, Poll Hub welcomed several high-profile guests to the podcast, including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, NPR’s Chief Business Editor Pallavi Gogoi, and Senior Writer and Analyst for CNN Harry Enten.

A true highlight for Poll Hub was its tie-in to Lee’s spring special topics class, “1968: The Year that Rocked American Politics.” The class featured several guest speakers with expertise in that pivotal year that helped shape today’s political landscape. These distinguished guest lecturers included noted journalist and author Jeff Greenfield, who served as Robert F. Kennedy’s speechwriter; documentarian Lynn Novick, who collaborated with Ken Burns on the PBS series “The Vietnam War”; journalist Bob Herbert, who wrote

MARIST INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC OPINION

and directed the documentary Against All Odds: The Fight For a Black Middle Class; and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr., who is also a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. As part of the course, Greenfield, Novick, Herbert, and Dionne participated in a special panel series conducted in front of a live audience and distributed via Poll Hub. The sessions were streamed via Facebook Live, where Marist alumni, friends of the College, and the public could watch the discussions in real time and send in their questions.

This semester, Lee’s “Public Opinion and Politics” course is focusing on the midterm elections and will feature a host of accomplished guest speakers. Invited lecturers include Steve Kornacki, author and national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC; Steve Thomma, executive director of The White House Correspondents’ Association; David Lightman, national political correspondent, congressional reporter, and editor of McClatchy News Service;

|Journalist Bob Herbert speaks with Marist students.

|Marist Poll Director Barbara L. Carvalho (left) with Jeff Greenfield during Poll Hub.

|Dr. Miringoff (left) on the set of "What America's Thinking"

|Lynn Novick (far right) fields questions during the 1968 panel series.

and Amy Chozick, author and national political correspondent for The New York Times.

The Marist Poll’s Newsfeed will teach Marist students about political communication and data analysis through a hands-on learning experience in MIPO’s offices. Newsfeed media and data assistants will gain insight into how to uncover the narratives told by data and how to effectively communicate those stories via text and visuals. Students will also participate in Marist Poll audio and video productions, including Poll Hub and live broadcasts conducted from the MIPO studio.

The Marist Poll is also excited to introduce the beta version its latest academic endeavor, a student newsroom.

Marist faculty members continue to distinguish themselves in their respective fields of study. Congratulations go out to Associate Professor of History Michael O’Sullivan, who has published Disruptive Power: Catholic Women, Miracles, and Politics in Modern Germany, 1918-1965 with the University of Toronto

Press. Focusing on the visionary Therese Neumann of Konnersreuth and her followers and drawing from archives in both Germany and the United States, the monograph explores the impact of mystical faith on religiosity, politics, and gender norms in Germany during a cataclysmic period in the country’s history. As such, the study demonstrates the values of micro-histories and unofficial discourses operative in the Weimar Republic and Third Reich.

Professor of English Judith Saunders recently published American Classics: Evolutionary Perspectives, an entry in Academic Studies Press’ series on Evolution, Cognition, and the Arts. The book places evolutionary concepts in dialogue with a wide range of texts, including Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, and Zora Neale Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits.” Joseph Carroll of the University of

Missouri-St. Louis has praised Saunders’ book for its “fine literary sensibility” and “forceful and evocative prose.”

This year, Associate Professor of Games/Interactive Media Karen Schrier is serving as a Belfer Fellow with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Technology & Society (CTS). CTS was founded in 2017 to ensure justice and fair treatment for all in the digital age, and The Belfer Fellowship program supports ADL’s efforts to create innovative solutions to counter online hate. Karen is the founding director of the Marist’s Games and Interactive Media Program. She spent more than a decade producing websites, apps, and games at Scholastic, Nickelodeon, BrainPOP PBS/Channel 13, ESI Design, and SparkNotes/Barnes & Noble before coming to the College. Her project will focus on how the use and design of games, virtual reality, and augmented reality can be used to teach empathy-related skills and reduce bias. To get things started, Karen hosted a Game Jam at Marist on September 1-2, sponsored by CTS. The event took place in Lowell Thomas with students working in teams to create games in a short amount of time.

This summer, Professor of Studio Art Donise English received a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Artist Fellowship in painting. This program is highly competitive and this year’s recipients and finalists were selected from an applicant pool of more than 3,000 artists working in a variety of fields, from writing to film. NYFA has been administering cash grants to artists based in New York State since 1985, and Donise received a $7,000 fellowship after having applied numerous times. Apart from serving as Chair of the Department of Art and Digital Media,

Donise is represented by the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson. She has a show in the gallery every year, and her most recent exhibition there was “Peculiar Rarities,” in which she exhibited some of her abstract sculpture alongside a few other artists.

The aims of the project are to gain a better insight into the chemical processes involved in the malting of barley and to identify fungal spoilage early in the process by in situ monitoring of volatile compounds. Only four grants were made this year, with the others going to major research universities. The grant funding will be used to purchase equipment and supplies for the project and will also provide a stipend for an undergraduate student over the summer.

|Professor of Chemistry Neil Fitzgerald

FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Professor of Chemistry Neil Fitzgerald was awarded a grant from the American Society of Brewing Chemists Research Council to study the malting process.


Associate Professor of Chemistry John Galbraith was featured in a news story in Chemistry World, the magazine of the Royal Society of Chemistry, which highlighted his recently published work on the computational study of hydrogen bonding. The article discusses how this work, which features Marist undergraduates as co-authors, has added to the controversy about the fundamental nature of hydrogen bonding and contradicts previous research from a group at Cambridge University. Joanne Gavin, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Professor of Management, is quoted in “Sexual Harassment on Campus,” an article appearing in the May 2018 issue of Monitor on Psychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association. The article includes advice and resources for psychology students on how best to prevent and respond to misconduct by faculty and others.

In other news, Associate Professor of History Janine Peterson was named Editor for Medieval Europe for the Database of Religious History (DRH). The DRH is based in the Centre for Human Evolution, Cognition, and

Culture at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Assistant Professor of Psychology Stacy Williams was elected to the Executive Board for Trainers of School Psychologists, where she will have direct input in supporting and advocating nationally for the needs of school psychology trainers at the specialist and doctoral levels.

Finally, Christina Wright Fields, Professional Lecturer of Education and Clinical Fellow for Community

|Professional Lecturer of Education Christina Wright Fields

|Assistant Professor of Psychology Stacy Williams

Partnerships, was recognized by one of the leading national organizations for student affairs professionals in higher education. NASPA selected Wright Fields as the recipient of its annual Region II Distinguished Excellence in Diversity Award. In addition to teaching the Marist course “Diversity in Public Education,” she works closely with the Beacon City School District to encourage students from underrepresented populations to become high school teachers.

Congratulations go out to Andrew Best ’18 and Laura Gardner ’18, who were each awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA), the latest in a long line of students from the College to receive this prestigious fellowship. The recent graduates are teaching English in Malaysia and Spain, respectively. Andrew majored in psychology/special education and is from Montclair, New Jersey, while Laura was a Spanish/adolescent education major and is from Thornwood, New York. In recent years, Marist has had tremendous success with this nationally competitive award, with 24 students winning the Fulbright in the last 15 years. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Two School of Science alumnae were recently lauded by national organizations. Cathy DeBlase Mulzer ’11, who was selected by Chemical & Engineering News for their fourth annual “2018 Talented 12” issue, which recognizes rising stars in chemistry. C&EN is a weekly trade magazine that has been published by the American Chemical Society since 1923; it provides professional and technical information in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering. To assemble the list, the magazine’s editors consulted its staff, advisory board, and Talented 12 alumni. C&EN readers also had the opportunity to submit the names of nominees. In all, 350 people were vetted through a lengthy research and evaluation process, leading to the dozen names on the final list.

FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

STUDENT/ALUMNI SUCCESS

|Cathy DeBlase Mulzer ’11

This recognition is the latest in a long line of honors Cathy has received. During her time at the College, Cathy received two of the nation’s most prestigious awards in science, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. She was also valedictorian of the Class of 2011. After graduating from Marist, Mulzer went on to earn a doctorate in organic chemistry at Cornell University, studies that were funded by her NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The Cornell chemistry faculty gave her the Simon Bauer Scholarship Award in recognition of her excellence in teaching, research, and service. Now a scientist at DowDuPont in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Cathy is busy developing next-generation polymer materials. Just last year, she received the DSM Science and Technology Award Americas 2017 at the annual American Chemical Society meeting in Washington, DC. The award honors bright young scientists in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Congratulations also go out to Dana DiScenza ’14, who was named to the 2018 CAS SciFinder Future Leaders, a program that assembles an international field of up-and-coming researchers shaping the future of scientific information and innovation; the honorees will collaborate on new initiatives to support the scientific community. The program members were announced by the Chemical Abstract Service (a division of the American Chemical Society), and they included 30 international PhD students (of which only 10 are from institutions in the US). The doctoral students were chosen based on their academic accomplishments and the scientific merit of their research. This year’s participants were selected from the largest, most geographically diverse pool of applicants the program has seen since its inception in 2010. Dana is currently in a PhD program at the University of Rhode Island, where she works on developing methods to detect organochlorine pesticides using fluorescence techniques.

In School of Management news, five

finance majors from the class of 2018 proudly represented Marist in the

prestigious CFA Institute Research Challenge in Boston on March 20, competing against a field of 250 students from across the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The research challenge is a global competition that tests the equity research and valuation, investment report writing, and presentation skills of university students. Jon Blake, Steve Morrison, Maura Sullivan, Dietrick Mosel, and Cory Lang earned this opportunity by winning the New York Region Challenge on March 2, besting 22 other colleges from the Tristate area. The quintet reached the finals of the Americas competition, advancing further than any previous team from Marist.

The Marist College Ethics Team took first place at the International Business Ethics Case Competition held in Boston April

|Dana DiScenza ’14 18-20. Comprised of business students Maura Sullivan ’18, Edward Campbell ’18, Sean Durkin ’19, Shannon Gordon ’18, and Barbara Aprilakis ’18, the team took home the first place Emmons Prize in Undergraduate Division I for the competition’s Full Presentation category, beating out stiff competition from institutions such as the University of Minnesota (which came in second) and the University of Illinois. The Full Presentation category required the team to speak on their chosen topic — “Okay, Google, Do the Right Thing” — for 25 minutes. The ethics competition is geared toward business students, who have to consider ethical, legal, and financial aspects of a problem and address them in their solution.

|Ethics Team members Edward Campbell ’18, Barbara Aprilakis ’18, Maura Sullivan ’18, Shannon Gordon ’18 and Sean Durkin ’19

|Left to right: Associate Professor of Finance Brian Haughey and Jon Blake, Steve Morrison, Maura Sullivan, Dietrich Mosel, and Cory Lang from the class of 2018.

STUDENT/ALUMNI SUCCESS


I am pleased to report that the College had a very strong year in fundraising, securing more than $14.8 million in new gifts and pledges for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, including nearly $12.9 million in private support and more than $1.9 million for academic research and sponsored programs. Special thanks to the more than 4,200 alumni, parents, and friends of the College who supported the 2018 Marist Fund. More than $1.2 million was raised to support much-needed scholarships and invaluable resources that enhance the educational experiences and opportunities afforded to all of our students.

The leadership of the College’s dedicated Board of Trustees continues to play an invaluable role in the ongoing success of our development efforts. Most recently, three longstanding and deeply committed members of the Board, Tom Ward ’69 and his wife Mary; Pat Lavelle ’73; and John O’Shea made very generous leadership gifts to name three of the four stunning new residence halls in the North Campus Housing Complex.

On May 4, we dedicated Tom and Mary Ward Hall, marking the first time in the College’s history that a building was named for an alumnus in recognition of their generous philanthropy. The Wards cut the ribbon at the dedication ceremony, joined by their daughter Alison Klie. Tom credits Marist with sparking his interest in business, and indeed, he went on to a distinguished career in textile manufacturing, retiring as chairman of the board of directors of Maidenform Brands in 2009. He joined Marist’s Board of Trustees in 2002 and serves as Treasurer; he also has been a member and chair of our Fashion Program’s Advisory Board. In 2017, he received the Dr. Linus Richard Foy ’50 Outstanding Alumnus Award for distinguished service to his profession and to the College.

On September 7, we dedicated a second building in the North Campus Housing Complex. Lavelle Hall honors Trustee Pat Lavelle ’73 and his family, and many family members attended the dedication, including Pat’s son Michael ’02 and daughter-in-law Kristen ’05, granddaughters Charlotte and Emily, daughter Meghan and son-in-law Marko, brother Joe and sister-in-law Tanya, sister Maureen and brother-in-law Bruce, and sister Judy Carroll. Pat has enjoyed a long and successful career in business and presently serves as director, president, and CEO of VOXX International. During his 41 years there, the company has become a global leader in automotive and consumer electronics and accessories, as well as premium audio. He has been honored by the Anti-Defamation League of New York for promoting growth, diversity, and democratic ideals in the workplace. A member of the Marist Board since 2005, Pat has led many fundraising campaigns for the College over the years.

We look forward to dedicating a third residence hall on the north end of campus, John and Nancy O’Shea Hall, on November 2. Trustee John O’Shea is well-known throughout the Hudson River Valley for his leadership of Marshall & Sterling Insurance, where he is chairman and has served as president for a quarter-century, as well as for his wide-ranging community service. A US Navy veteran who served in the Korean War, John remained in the Naval Reserves for two decades before retiring at the rank of commander. A Marist trustee for almost 25 years, he has served on the Board’s Advancement and Finance Committees and is a founding member of Marist’s Legacy Society, a group of individuals who have thoughtfully included the College in their estate plans. The O’Sheas established the John and Nancy O’Shea Scholarship to help commuter students finance their studies. We are proud to say that the O’Shea family includes several Marist alumni: son Steve O’Shea ’81, grandson Scott Sweeney ’04, and granddaughter Katie Viola ’13/’15M.

|O’Shea family

COLLEGE ADVANCEMENTBUILDING DEDICATIONS

| Tom ’69 and Mary Ward

|Cutting the ribbon on Lavelle Hall

SCHOLARSHIP AND PLANNED GIVING SUPPORTCOLLEGE ADVANCEMENT

I’d like to recognize the extraordinary generosity of Trustee and past Board Chair Rob Dyson, who made a founding gift to a new endowed scholarship the Board established to honor the outstanding leadership of Immediate Past Chair Ellen Hancock. Ellen, who has served on the Board for nearly 30 years, concluded her tenure as board chair this past May, and she has left an indelible mark on the College. This meaningful gift will help ensure that the scholarship in her name will make a significant impact in the lives of future generations of deserving Marist students. In addition, Trustee Jim Barnes ’68, founder and principal of JMB Relocation, recently facilitated a very generous gift of office furniture that will play an important role in outfitting the new Marist Executive Center in Manhattan. We are grateful for the many ways that special gifts like this help support the College’s mission and enhance the resources available to our faculty, staff, and students.

I am pleased to announce that Dean and Denise Vanech and the Vanech Family Foundation have generously endowed a substantial scholarship for students with demonstrated financial need. The Vanechs have been committed volunteer leaders since their son Nicky ’18 was a student here, including service on Marist’s Parents Council, a group of valued ambassadors for the College and generous supporters. The Vanechs have also graciously hosted a number of special events in New Jersey, including a reception for

alumni, parents, and friends during the first year of my presidency and a welcome reception this past summer for incoming students and their families. We appreciate all they have done and continue to do to benefit the Marist community.

Mark Logan and Maureen Sorbo Logan ’78 recently established the Mark and Maureen (Sorbo ’78) Logan Scholarship, an endowed fund that will be awarded to local students of high character with significant financial need who have leadership potential and proven academic ability. Preference will be given to graduates of Poughkeepsie High School majoring in STEM fields, accounting, or finance. The Logans made an additional outright contribution so that the first scholarship could be awarded this fall. Maureen, valedictorian of Marist’s Class of 1978, built a 38-year career at IBM, where she managed the business process, contract management, and financial operations group for the corporate intellectual property organization. Mark, who earned a bachelor of science in chemistry from Puget Sound University in 1981 and a doctorate of chemistry at UC Berkeley in 1985, is a founder and vice president of business development for Solid State Cooling Systems, Inc. Their longtime volunteer work with underserved children and adults in our community has given them a special appreciation of the needs and potential of local teens, many of whom will be able to complete a Marist degree thanks to the Logan family.

Bernard and Shirley Handel and the Handel Foundation have made a generous gift to establish the Bernard Handel Prize in Accounting, which recognizes the top graduating Marist senior in accounting and provides him or her with tuition assistance for Marist’s MS in Professional Accountancy program. The inaugural prize was presented to Michael DeMaria ’18. We are grateful to Bern and Shirley for their continued support and the leadership Shirley provides as a member of the Hudson River Valley Institute (HRVI) Advisory Board. In addition, longtime Marist friends Herb and Sue Redl continue to generously support the Herb and Sue Redl Scholarship, awarded to upperclassmen who reside in the mid-Hudson region and need financial assistance to complete their degrees at Marist. Since 1995, more than 50 students have been supported through this special scholarship. The Redls have our gratitude and appreciation for all the ways they support the College and enrich the lives of our students. The James J. McCann Charitable Trust is now in its 50th year of supporting Dutchess County students through annual scholarships. These scholarships assist traditional-age Marist students who live in Dutchess County and are graduates of local high schools, with preference given to Our Lady of Lourdes High School graduates. The scholarships have helped hundreds of students realize their dreams of going to Marist. We are grateful for the tremendous support McCann Trustees Dick Corbally and the late Michael Gartland have provided for so many high-impact initiatives and capital projects at the College over the years. |Members of the Legacy Society

Marist parents continue to make a meaningful difference in the life of the College through their generous support and leadership.


The Marist College Legacy Society, whose members have included Marist in their estate plans, recently welcomed several new members. Susan and Jack Pretak, Michael J. and Li C. Matsler P’20, Rich (’68) and Judy Guglielmo, Mark and Maureen (Sorbo ’78) Logan and Dr. Lawrence (’68) and Susan Carr have all joined this special group of dedicated supporters in recent months. I was pleased to join the members of the Legacy Society for their annual celebration and induction of new members at the Payne Mansion on May 10. The event featured presentations regarding the important work of HRVI from Vice President for Academic Affairs Thom Wermuth, HRVI Executive Director and the Frank T. Bumpus Chair in Hudson River Valley History James Johnson, and new Legacy Society member and Hudson River Valley Review contributor Michael Matsler, Esq. P’20.

|Guest speaker Gilda Bonanno ’93 (right) at the Maritime Aquarium

in Norwalk, CT

ALUMNI RELATIONS

We held a number of engagement opportunities for alumni, parents, and friends over the past few months. In early June, nearly 100 guests, including Trustees Jim Honan ’78 and Maureen O’Rourke, Esq. ’85, attended a reception at Boston’s Museum of Science. On August 14, Marist juniors, seniors, and graduate students gathered at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut for a networking reception with alumni.

The event featured Alumni Executive Board member Gilda Bonanno ’93, a professional communication and leadership trainer and presentation skills coach, as well as Mary Jones, Executive Director of Marist’s Center for Career Services.

Finally, we invite all Marist alumni, students, parents, and friends to cheer on the Red Foxes in Ireland this November! The Sport Changes Life Foundation, in partnership with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), is hosting the second Belfast Classic in the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on November 29, 30, and December 1 of this year. Four- and six-night travel packages are available for Marist fans. Please visit http://maristconnect.marist.edu/belfastclassic for details.

COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT

On April 5, the Marist community was pleased to welcome John Dunne, the 12th Men’s Basketball Coach in our history, to the McCann Center. John came to Marist from St. Peter’s University, where he served as head coach for the last 12 years. (St. Peter’s is also a member of the MAAC.) He built a winning culture there through his competitive, defense-first coaching style and excellent recruiting. During his tenure at St. Peter’s, John coached 10 1,000-point scorers, 13 All-MAAC selections, three MAAC All-Rookie Team selections, four MAAC All-Tournament selections (including a MAAC Tournament MVP), and a MAAC Defensive Player of the Year. He guided the Peacocks to the 2011 MAAC Championship and 2017 CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship. In 2011, John was named a national finalist for the Skip Prosser Award, which honors those who achieve success on the court while displaying moral integrity off the court.

Marist student-athletes continue to represent the College well. For the 17th straight year, Marist topped the MAAC in student-athletes named to the All-MAAC Honor Roll. A record 273 red foxes received this distinction. In addition, 54 members of the football team were named to the Pioneer League Honor Roll, while 10 members of the men’s crew team were named to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association honor Roll. The fall sport season is well underway, with football, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, and men’s and women’s cross country all continuing competition.

ATHLETICS

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Speaking of athletics, the renovation and enhancement of the James J. McCann Recreation Center is well underway. Slated to open in 2020, this expansive project will add 42,000 square feet to the existing building and feature contemporary recreational spaces for all student populations, including dedicated facilities for Division I athletics, as well as space for intramurals and club sports. Building features include a state-of-the-art fitness center, two full-size basketball courts, an elevated track, a dedicated weight room for varsity athletes, a café, and flexible space for aerobic and other classes. While the renovation is taking place, Marist students will continue to have access to two recreation areas on campus: the Building D Fitness Center in the North Campus Housing Complex and the Upper West Cedar/Marketplace Fitness Center on the east part of campus. We appreciate the Marist community’s patience during construction and look forward to a superb new facility for our students.

Marist students continue to serve the community in a variety of ways, both here and abroad. Over spring break, a group of 10 students went on Campus Ministry’s annual trip to Merida, Mexico to work at the Marist Brothers community center on several service projects, including building a greenhouse, building a fence, and weeding and cleaning up the property. The group also had the opportunity to visit with their counterparts at Universidad Marista de Mérida. Our thanks to students Brittany Hampton ’19, Kevin Smith ’19, Geanna Figueroa ’19, Danielle Morris ’19, Alison Kenney ’19, Tiffany Rosario ’18, Michael Kennedy ’19, Megan Nickel ’19, John Chandler Moore ’19, and Ariel Camillo ’19.

Marist’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity spent spring break in Oklahoma City helping residents rebuild their homes after they were destroyed by severe weather. The group of about 25 students participated in the trip as part of Habitat for Humanity International’s Collegiate Challenge. The Marist students laid sod, caulked, painted, and framed houses that were either damaged by tornadoes or newly constructed on lots purchased by Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity. Leading the students were chaperones Melissa McCarthy, Learning Disabilities Specialist; Marina Melita, Lecturer of Italian; and Alex Conaway, Coordinator of First Year Programs and Leadership Development.

Additionally, the Marist College Singers hosted their annual benefit concert, Love in the Afternoon, on March 3-4. The $3,500 in proceeds from the three shows aided To Write Love On Her Arms, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those struggling with mental illness, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Making this year’s event so unique was the fact that it was largely driven and promoted by the students themselves. Students chose this non-profit as a way to promote mental health awareness and to provide a new level of understanding and empathy through music.

ATHLETICS

|Architectural rendering of the new multi-use indoor turf space. |Architectural rendering of the new the James J. McCann Recreation Center.


ADMISSIONSMARIST WELCOMES THE CLASS OF 2022We were pleased to open the fall 2018 semester by welcoming 1,459 new traditional-age undergraduate students to the College, including 1,312 freshmen and 147 transfers. Of these new students, 1,264 reside on our main campus in Poughkeepsie, 131 are commuters, 36 are enrolled in the Freshman Florence Experience at our Italy campus, and 28 students are spending their first year in Ireland as part of Marist’s new Freshman Dublin Experience. With the addition of the Dublin program, this year marks the highest number of freshmen (65) spending their first year abroad in Marist history. In addition, 10 new students are spending their entire four years in Italy enrolled in one of Marist’s undergraduate programs in Florence.

The diversity of the Class of 2022 is impressive. This year, 22.3 percent of the freshman class have self-identified as students of color (African American, Asian, Hispanic, American Indian, or Multiracial), the most ethnically diverse class in the history of the College. Geographic diversity is also strong, with about 56 percent hailing from outside New York. The areas with the most growth are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. In all, 29 states are represented in the freshman class.

Marist also had another successful year enrolling international students and U.S. citizens living abroad. The Class of 2022 includes 39 students from Argentina, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, Romania, Rwanda, Somalia, South Korea, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

GRADUATE ADMISSION

I am pleased to report that at the start of the fall semester, overall new graduate student enrollment exceeded our budgeted goals (246 students versus 205). In the School of Computer Science and Mathematics, enrollment in the MS in Information Systems, MS in Computer Science, and Business Analytics certificate exceeded goals across all programs. The MSIS enrolled 43 students against a goal of 30, the MSCS enrolled 16 students versus 10, and the certificate in Business Analytics enrolled nine students versus a goal of seven. After a disappointing 2017, enrollment in the School of Communication and the Arts’ MA in Museum Studies program received 13 new students this fall, compared to eight last year. The Integrated Marketing Communication program met its goal of 30 new students.

In our School of Management, the Master of Public Administration program is offered both online and on ground in Queens and Poughkeepsie each fall, and enrollment across all cohorts exceeded the goal of 50 students, enrolling 65. Likewise, the Master of Business Administration program also has strong enrollment (44 students against the goal of 35). This summer also marked the first cohort for the MS in Professional Accountancy and, while primarily made up of Marist undergraduates, we also enrolled one external student from Ithaca College, for a total of 10 new students.

In the School of Social and Behavioral Studies, the MA in Mental Health Counseling struggled this year, enrolling six new students against a goal of 10. However, we believe that the recent change of name to Clinical Mental Health Counseling and pending accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling & Related Educational Programs will allow us to reposition the program in the marketplace to better target those interested in a clinical focus. The MA in School Psychology program exceeded its goal of 10, enrolling 14 new students this fall. As in prior years, the summer hybrid Educational Psychology program continues to be the format of choice for prospective students compared to the fully on-ground format. The hybrid program enrolled 20 new students this summer, while one has joined the on the ground program in Poughkeepsie this fall. Finally, the School of Science welcomed the third MS in Physician Assistant Studies cohort of 53 new students in May. Application review for the cohort beginning in summer 2019 is well underway, and we expect to enroll 55 new students.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYMembers of our Digital Education team continue to be active leaders in the global community of online instruction. In March, Director of Digital Education Julin Sharp presented a session entitled “Rewiring Instructors’ Brains for Online Teaching,” in Towson, Maryland at the Quality Matters (QM) conference. In April, meanwhile, Educational Technology Specialist Corri Nicoletti presented two sessions at the Online Learning Consortium Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Digital Education continues to provide leadership to the open source Apereo community. At the annual Apereo conference, Corri presented sessions entitled “Offering a Customized Menu in Your LMS using LTI Tools” and “The Other End User: Setting LMS Expectations Starting With Students.”

This past spring, Digital Education launched a two-day course innovation series entitled “Shift into a New Gear,” which shares tools and pedagogies that are useful in transforming courses. The workshop series allows faculty members to collaborate with both their colleagues and the Digital Education staff to increase student success through the use of innovative technologies. The series includes personalized instruction, collaborative work time, and discussion time. Thus far, 20 faculty members have completed “Shift into a New Gear.”

|Corri Nicoletti

The Digital Education team again held its annual August Institute, offering an assortment of workshops to help faculty prepare for the fall semester. Tools such as Panopto and WebEx were highlighted, as well as other topics including course innovation, course customization, implementing the lessons tool for resource management and delivery, and tools to engage students. All workshops are available both on-site and through WebEx, and Open Lab hours are available for those who would like one-on-one support.

TeliStat, a Dutchess County-headquartered med-tech company dedicated to improving the health of senior citizens at risk, has begun exploring the use of Blockchain technology with Marist and IBM. This technology will provide the “power of digital networks” to further improve TeliStat’s efficacy within the market they serve by continuing to reduce the cost of health care while improving patient outcomes.

Marist has also formed an innovative new consortium of organizations interested in creating new technologies to record and exchange academic and professional credentials earned by people throughout their lives. In addition to the College, founding members of the consortium include IBM, the Newburgh Free School District, Orange County Community College, and TeliStat. To facilitate an exchange of ideas, Marist hosted a design thinking workshop to explore ways Blockchain technologies could help students and job seekers gather all of their credentials to apply to a school or for a job, as well as helping institutions and employers to qualify candidates for participation in their programs. Senior IBM executives have sponsored this exploratory research, and work is continuing this fall.

The College continues to incubate and provide research services to local companies.

Comments, Questions, or Concerns: [email protected]

In Closing,I would like to thank everyone for the many accomplishments contained in this memo and wish you all an enjoyable and productive fall semester.

David Yellen, Marist College President

fall 2018 - marist college

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