Marist is grateful to alumni, parents, and friends for their support and dedication.
The philanthropy of alumni, parents, and friends continues to make a substantial impact at Marist. The College is grateful for their support and ongoing dedication. Among recent commitments are the following.Naming Commitments for the New Dyson CenterMarist has received several recent pledge commitments in support of the exciting renovation and expansion of the Dyson Center underway on campus. A dedicated donor who wishes to remain anonymous recently pledged to name the café in the Collaborative Study Center on the first floor of the new facility. The centrally located café will be dedicated in the name of the School of Management Advisory Board, providing a visible symbol of the board’s ongoing support and advocacy for Marist students, faculty, and staff.In addition, Wayne Schmidt ’80 and his wife, Marisa, made a pledge towards the Dyson Center project to name two spaces that directly impact students and faculty. The Schmidts will name a premier classroom in memory of Wayne’s father, Wayne Schmidt Sr., as well as a collaborative study room in honor of Wayne’s uncle and legendary former Marist crew coach Bill Austin. Marist is grateful to Wayne and Marisa for their generous support of this important project and appreciate their generosity and thoughtfulness as they remember Wayne’s father and honor Bill Austin.Longtime member of the Marist Board of Trustees Mark Dennis generously committed to name the STEM–Teaching Methods Lab in the Dyson Center. The lab, outfitted with running water, gas, and other essentials for demonstrating science concepts, will support not only STEM teacher-candidates but also teachers in the areas of social studies, language arts, and special needs. Mark, as a trustee of the Evelyn Davies Trust, directed this gift to recognize and honor Evelyn Davies, who was an elementary school teacher in the Arlington School District for 35 years. Mark has made an enormous impact on the College through his thoughtful stewardship of the Evelyn Davies Trust and previously of the Jeannette F. Schlobach Charitable Trust, of which he was the trustee. Mark is a prominent certified public accountant in the Hudson River Valley and has served on Marist’s board since 2004.To explore the wide range of naming opportunities associated with the landmark Dyson Center project, please contact Chris DelGiorno, vice president for college advancement, at chris.delgiorno@marist.edu.Support for ScholarshipsChris Bricker ’90 and his wife, Jennifer, have pledged additional support for the Michael C. Holland Memorial Scholarship in honor of her father. Created to recognize his extraordinary commitment to serving the public, the scholarship will be awarded to a first-year student who has shown a strong devotion to community service. Marist is grateful for their caring and generous support.Chris Bricker ’90Nick Citera ’87 and his wife, Rossana, have made a generous gift to establish the Nick ’87 and Rossana Citera Endowed Scholarship. The Citeras’ scholarship will support first-year undergraduates in the School of Management who have considerable academic promise and demonstrated financial need. First preference will be given to residents of the Hudson Valley. A longtime Hudson Valley resident, Nick is a partner in Cosimo’s Restaurant Group and a dedicated member of the School of Management Advisory Board. Previously, the Citeras established an endowment to support students enrolled in the Business 100 course offered in the School of Management. The course brings students and local businesses together for collaboration on special projects with real-world implications. Marist deeply appreciates the Citeras’ ongoing generosity and leadership.Marist lost one of its most dedicated volunteer leaders and supporters last spring with the passing of Ellen Hancock, immediate past chair of the Board of Trustees. Ellen, a highly accomplished technology executive and business leader, served on the Marist Board for 34 years, including seven as chair. Ellen’s husband, Jason, has made a gift to support the Ellen Hancock Endowed Scholarship, originally established by the Board of Trustees in her honor; the Dennis and Marilyn Murray Endowed Scholarship; and the Music Program at Marist. The College appreciates Jason’s continued dedication and his generous and thoughtful support.Maureen Sorbo Logan ’78 and Mark Logan have made an additional gift towards the Mark and Maureen (Sorbo ’78) Logan Scholarship. The scholarship supports students from the Mid-Hudson Valley who have significant financial need and are majoring in STEM, accounting, or finance. The Logans visited with their scholarship’s recipient at the annual Celebration of Scholarships held on the campus Nov. 12. The College is grateful for their impactful support of Marist students.The James J. McCann Charitable Trust has provided a grant extending its invaluable support of scholarships for deserving traditional-age Marist students who live in Dutchess County and graduate from county high schools. This is the 54th year the trust has supported this special program that has touched the lives of countless local students. Over the years, trust has also played a lead role in the construction of signature facilities at the College such as the James J. McCann Recreation Center. The entire Marist community extends its thanks to the trust for its transformational support of scholarships and state-of-the-art facilities at the College.Sisters Kari Redl-Daniels, Kelley Redl-Hardisty, Kristi Redl-Deasy, and Kimberly Redl-Lawrence are carrying on the tradition started by their parents Herb and Sue Redl of generously supporting Marist through the endowment of the Herb and Sue Redl Scholarship. Established by their parents in 1995, the scholarship is awarded to continuing students with financial need who reside in the Hudson River Valley. More than 75 talented and deserving students have benefited from this special scholarship over the years. The College is deeply appreciative of the entire Redl family for their steadfast support, dedication to students, and passionate commitment to the Hudson River Valley community.Trustee Genine McCormick ’88 and her husband, Michael ’88, have made a gift to name a Marist–Gilder Lehrman Institute Scholarship in President Kevin Weinman’s honor. The McCormicks established the GLI–Marist partnership program in fall 2021. Their support, combined with that of other donors, is providing meaningful term scholarships for deserving students who are recognized as top high school history students by GLI’s recently launched National Academy of American History and Civics. The first Long Reach Society dinner brought together donors of the scholarship program and scholarship recipients at Marist’s Cornell Boathouse on Nov. 3. The event featured remarks by President Kevin Weinman; Dr. James G. Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History; Dr. Martin Schaffer, dean of the School of Liberal Arts; Mike McCormick, and the two inaugural scholarship awardees, Harumi Kameda ’25 and Elisabet Guerrero Hernandez ’25 as well as a presentation by Dr. David Woolner, professor of history, on the current exhibit at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library about FDR’s final campaign. Over the past 30 years the McCormicks have been among the College’s most engaged alumni, not only volunteering their time to lead the Marist Fund but also supporting the James A. Cannavino Library, the music building, theatre facilities, the Career Center in the School of Management, and the Presidential Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience. And in recognition of their very generous gift to support a new residence hall on the North End of campus, McCormick Hall was formally dedicated to them in 2019. Marist extends its profound thanks for their longtime commitment.The trustees of the Dr. Edwin A. Ulrich Charitable Trust — Jack Conklin, John Regan, and Jeff Armstrong — have again initiated a generous grant from the trust to support scholarships for business and fine-art majors from the Hudson River Valley, as well as outstanding music students at Marist. Marist is thankful for the trust’s longtime support for scholarships, which has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of Marist students over the years.The Dr. Edwin A. Ulrich Charitable Trust continues its longtime commitment to scholarships at Marist. Grants from the trust assist upper-class business and fine arts majors as well as music minors from the Hudson River Valley. During their annual board meeting on campus, Ulrich Trustees (left to right, back row) Jeff Armstrong, Jack Conklin, and John Regan met scholarship recipients (left to right, front row) Emily Valentino ’24, Jocelyn Antonio ’24, and Priyanka Vohra ’24.Dr. Sam and Gail Simon have pledged to establish an endowed scholarship in the School of Science. Dr. Simon is a retired orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Hudson Valley Fresh. He also serves on the School of Science Advisory Board. The College is most grateful for this leadership and support that will change the lives of students pursuing science degrees at Marist.Executive Vice President Dr. Geoffrey L. Brackett and his wife, Michelle Rider, CPA, Esq., have pledged to establish an endowed fund to support Marist’s LGBTQ+ community. The Rainbow Fox Fund will strengthen and enhance programming, resources, and opportunities for students. The fund will also provide a platform for reaching out to Marist alumni, parents, and friends for additional support for the LGBTQ+ community. The College appreciates Geoff’s and Michelle’s generosity and thoughtfulness in creating this special fund and are grateful for their support of Marist’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.Dr. Geoffrey L. Brackett and his wife, Michelle Rider, CPA, Esq.
The sold-out event supported the School of Management Scholarship Fund, providing eight term scholarships for graduating seniors with financial need.
The Advisory Board of Marist’s School of Management was pleased to honor Trustee Pat Lavelle ’73/P’02 during its annual Golf Outing at the Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, on Sept. 12. Lavelle, president and CEO of VOXX International Corp., was recognized for his innovative business leadership and exceptional support of Marist College.A sold-out event for the second straight year, the scholarship fundraiser secured $55,000 for the School of Management Scholarship Fund. The support will provide eight term scholarships of $5,000 each for graduating seniors with financial need to reduce the burden of their student loans. The balance will go to the School of Management Advisory Board Endowed Scholarship that exists in perpetuity and will benefit deserving Marist School of Management students for generations to come.Special thanks go to Golf Committee members Michael Babic ’04, Nicholas Esposito ’18, Greg Garville ’74, Kevin Hogan ’02, Tim Keneally ’69, Bob Meindl ’91, Tom Murray ’02, Stephen Popper ’92, Maureen Solero, and Kim Viggiano ’02 for their outstanding work leading this successful effort.
George Majestic ’71 cherished his time at Marist. After working hard all their lives, he and his wife, Carol, are giving back to help others who want to pursue a college education.
If you visit George and Carol Majestic at their home in Florida and you mention Marist, it’s possible George will share with you something unusual. He has a folder from his Marist days 50 years ago where he’s saved tuition bills, thank-you notes for his decades-worth of donations, letters of recommendation, and a 1966 letter confirming his acceptance from Dave Flynn ’64, director of admissions. “I don't consider myself a hoarder,” he said, “but some things are important to me.” He especially prizes the letters from faculty members Dr. Jack Kelly and Dr. M. J. Michelson, two of his favorite professors. “I cherished those. And my time at Marist.”George was born and raised in Gardiner, NY. “My parents didn't have much money, so I went to work for IBM after high school and started going to school at Marist at night,” he recalled.“I then served four years in the Navy and returned to work at IBM in 1967, enrolled at Marist as an adult student, and took classes part time through the evening division. I was eager to finish, so I took a leave of absence from IBM and condensed three years of study into two—graduating in 1971. I was able to attend and graduate debt-free with the help of the GI Bill.”Carol too forged her own path. “I was one of nine children. Instead of going on to college like my brothers, I got a job as a secretary at IBM and stayed with them almost six years.” A TWA ad recruiting flight attendants caught her attention, leading to a new career that lasted 33 years.George led development projects in Ulster, Orange, and Dutchess counties under the banner of his excavation company, Majestic Underground. “So that’s where I made my living, really close to home,” George said.Both George and Carol are enjoying retirement. But far from forgetting about Marist, they have established a scholarship, the George W. Majestic ’71 and Carol Lahey Majestic Scholarship, to help other aspiring college graduates.“It's a nice feeling to be able to share our good fortune,” said George. “We just feel like we’re helping someone who needs help, and we're happy to share.”
Getting a college degree changed the life of Lou Zuccarello and future generations of his family.
Lou Zuccarello was a straight-A student, on track to becoming class valedictorian at Mount St. Michael Academy, a Marist Brothers high school in the Bronx, and winning debate competitions all over New York City. But college? It didn’t look like college was going to happen.Lou’s father passed away suddenly at the age of 51, when Lou was 16, and his mother took over the family dressmaking business. “No one in my family had been to college,” Lou remembered, “so I had no idea how to navigate the world of higher education, much less the world of financial aid. But my mother was steadfast in her insistence that I go to college. I envisioned working days and somehow saving enough money to go to night school.”It was a Marist Brother at his school who reached out to St. John’s University, pitched Lou’s potential, and helped Lou navigate his way to a full scholarship. Lou commuted by subway nearly two hours in each direction, graduating summa cum laude in 1958.That Marist Brother, Ed Cashin ’52, later moved to Marist College and recruited Lou to the faculty in 1966. Dr. Zuccarello, who retired as a professor of political science in 2001, led the creation of the Criminal Justice department and served as academic vice president and academic dean from 1975 to 1980.“Getting a college degree changed the script not only for Lou, but for future generations of our family,” said Barbara Zuccarello, Lou’s wife of more than 60 years and a longtime volunteer leader for the Marist College Center for Lifetime Study. “All three of our boys graduated college and have built fulfilling careers and beautiful families. We’ve always said that if we ever had the financial means to do so, we wanted to help create more stories like Lou’s.”Lou and Barbara established the Zuccarello Family Scholarship, supporting talented Marist students from the Bronx with demonstrated financial need.“The Marist community has been our home for 56 years,” Lou said. “Barbara and I are blessed beyond our wildest imagination, and we hope others will follow our lead and make stories like ours possible for future generations.”
Students are applying for support from the fund that Marist President Kevin Weinman and his wife, Beth, established to broaden access to internships, attachment programs, and individual tutoring.
A fund launched by President Kevin Weinman and his wife, Beth, to widen student access to a range of meaningful academic activities has drawn great interest among undergraduates.The President’s Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience supports internships, attachment programs such as courses that include a travel component, and individual tutoring. Awards are intended for students enrolled in an undergraduate, degree-seeking program who demonstrate significant financial need and where financial constraints are a barrier to their participation in these activities.As of mid-March, 123 applications for funding had been received. So far, 72 students have received funds, with the majority of the awards supporting courses with a travel component.The Weinmans established the fund in December 2021 with a pledge of $250,000. Since then, a number of donors, including 100 percent of the College’s Board of Trustees, have added generously to it.Soon after arriving at Marist in fall 2021, Weinman saw a way he could help make an impact on the student experience.“In my short time here, it is already abundantly clear to me that Marist is thriving, yet has the potential to achieve even greater heights,” Weinman said at the time. “One of the ways Marist can do so is to attract, enroll, and retain a diverse group of talented students and enable them to experience the full range of curricular and co-curricular offerings once they arrive, regardless of their financial circumstances. Our pledge is intended to be one small step towards helping all of our students to reach their full potential and get the most out of their Marist experience.”Inspired by the Weinmans’ gift, Chair of the Board of Trustees Ross Mauri ’80 and his wife, Barbara, matched it with a pledge of their own. This past fall, Mauri announced that every member of the Board of Trustees also had made a pledge to the fund in honor of Weinman’s inauguration Sept. 23. The College would also like to recognize the generous gift to the fund made by Emily Saland and her husband, Jesse. Emily is vice president of strategic initiatives and chief of staff at Marist.Applications are reviewed in a competitive process to distribute funding by committees from Marist’s Academic Affairs office, Academic Learning Center, Center for Career Services, and Office of International Programs. Student Financial Services and the Business Affairs Office are responsible for confirming eligibility and overseeing the distribution of awards.The College’s goal is to continue to grow the fund, the range of activities it supports, and its impact on students. The Advancement Office is still actively seeking additional support for this important objective. To make a contribution to the President’s Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience, please visit marist.edu/presidentsfundLouis Greenspan Endowed Fund for Equity in the Marist ExperienceIn addition to the significant term funding that has been secured for the President’s Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience, the College is pleased to announce the establishment of a new endowed fund that was recently established through a generous grant from the Louis Greenspan Charitable Trust to support these important objectives on an ongoing basis. When fully funded, the Louis Greenspan Endowed Fund for Equity in the Marist Experience will provide a perpetual source of support for internships, attachment programs such as courses that include a travel component, and individual tutoring. The College is most grateful to Greenspan Trustees Dan Curtin and Gary Koch for their ongoing commitment to Marist and the many ways the trust has enhanced the world-class opportunities, experiences, and facilities that are available to Marist students.
Kicker Makes Pro Bowl, Leads NFL in Scoring, Makes Playoffs
Marist graduate Jason Myers completed a magnificent 2022 season for the Seattle Seahawks, one which was complete with late-game heroics, postseason play, outstanding statistics, and terrific accolades.Myers is in his eighth season in the NFL as a placekicker and his fourth with the Seahawks. On the last day of the NFL regular season on Sunday, Jan. 8, Myers’ 32-yard field goal in overtime lifted the Seahawks to a 19–16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. This result, coupled with the Detroit Lions’ victory over the Green Bay Packers, secured a playoff berth for the Seahawks. Although Seattle fell to San Francisco in the wildcard round, Myers made his presence felt with a 56-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.Myers was rewarded with his second career trip to the Pro Bowl and was named First Team All-Pro by the NFL Players’ Association. In the 2022 regular season, Myers led the NFL in scoring with 143 points. He converted 34 of his 37 field goal attempts and 42 of his 43 extra point tries. He also had 54 touchbacks on kickoffs.Myers is a 2013 Marist graduate who was a four-year member of the football program from the 2009 through 2012 seasons. He set the program record for longest field goal in 2011, which came from 49 yards out. That mark was equaled by Luke Paladino in 2019.Myers started his NFL career in Jacksonville. He kicked for the Jaguars from 2015 to 2017 before enjoying a Pro Bowl season with the New York Jets in 2018. He then signed a multiyear contract with Seattle in March of 2019.
The College has more than 75 different study abroad programs.
Marist continues to offer among the strongest study abroad options in the country, with its full academic year study abroad program ranking No. 1 in the nation in participation among US master’s degree-granting institutions, according to the latest Open Doors report for the 2020–2021 academic year. Marist also ranked among the top 10 institutions in the country for its semester-length abroad program (5th), total number of students abroad (5th), and overall study abroad participation (9th).The report is published by the Institute of International Education in collaboration with the US Department of State.A global education is a foundation of the Marist learning experience, which is why the College has more than 75 different study abroad programs including semester-long, full academic year, and short-term study abroad time frames designed to enable students to stay on track with their studies while giving them access to rich cultural experiences.In addition, the Marist Italy campus in Florence offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in partnership with one of the most established and innovative educators in Florence, Italy, Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici. The Marist Italy experience has become one of the College’s most distinctive offerings and draws interest from students around the world.“Study abroad has become a signature aspect of the Marist experience, with about half of our students studying abroad prior to graduation in recent years, which is nearly five times the national average,” said Dr. John Peters, dean of International Programs at Marist. “Navigating a new context and culture is often cited by students as pivotal and transformative. Our students have these incredible opportunities to learn about themselves and the complexity and diversity of our shared story through international and intercultural exploration.”The latest rankings for Marist’s study abroad program came less than a year after the program received the Senator Paul Simon Award for its freshman year abroad programs in Italy and Ireland. The award is one of the most prestigious a college or university can receive for excellence in international programs.
