Marist College to become a university; Marist Poll looks at Trump transition

Marist College in Poughkeepsie, which is known for the Marist Poll among other things, plans to become Marist University effective Jan. 29. Marist was founded in 1929 and has a campus in Florence, Italy, as well as its main campus in Poughkeepsie. Marist has more than 5,000 undergraduate students and nearly 1,000 graduate students.

The New York State Board of Regents gave its approval to Marist becoming a university.

“Marist has achieved remarkable success over the past several decades, transforming from a small regional college into a nationally and internationally renowned leader in higher education,” according to Kevin C. Weinman, Marist’s president. “Marist University better describes the breadth of opportunities we offer to students today and the vision we have for Marist’s next century.”

Marist said that becoming a university will enhance the institution’s global appeal, clearly articulating Marist’s identity to international students and student-athletes and strengthening its ability to attract top faculty from around the world.

Many people know Marist from the Marist Poll, which frequently is issued by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, the survey research center on the Poughkeepsie campus. The Marist Poll regularly measures public opinion at the local, state, and national level. Founded in 1978, the Institute for Public Opinion was the first college-based research center to include undergraduates in conducting survey research. More than 400 students work on the polling each semester.

In a new poll released Dec. 11, Marist reviewed public opinion on Donald Trump’s presidential transition efforts and the pardon President Biden issued for his son Hunter.

The poll found that a minority of Americans approve of what Trump is doing in the transition. It found that 47% approve of the Trump transition so far, 39% disapprove and 14% are unsure. The poll found that 64% of Americans think the country is moving in the wrong direction, with 35% saying the country is headed in the right direction.

Marist found that 59% of Americans disapprove of President Biden’s pardoning of his son, Hunter Biden. 40% approve. The poll found that 73% of Democrats approve of the pardon while 84% of Republicans and 65% of independents disapprove.

According to Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, “Although more people support Trump’s transition than oppose it, more independents are taking a wait and see position than more partisan voters. A note of caution for President-elect Trump is that fewer voters approve of the transition than gave a thumbs up to either Biden or Obama at this point.”