Five Questions with President Weinman

Photo by Elizabeth Baumgardner '25

Editor’s Note: These questions, submitted by Marist University students, have been edited for length and clarity.

What are some of your favorite events to attend on campus?

Well, of course, the answer is all of them! Especially those that showcase the incredible talents and passions of Marist students such as performances by Marist Theatre, Dance Ensemble, any of the dozens of instrumental or vocal events by Marist Music, Silver Needle Runway and of course, any varsity or club sport, just to name a few. I especially love Senior Thesis exhibits and chatting with students about their research and findings.

I am truly entertained by our students’ talents and enjoy my conversations with them. I know how devoted they are, the huge sacrifices they make and how hard they work to be the best they can be. There is nothing at Marist more inspiring to me than to see our students excel. 

 Why was there an increase in security measures regarding each building but not the entrance of the campus?

Student safety, and the safety of every member of our community, is a primary focus, and we are always evaluating options to strengthen our security measures. The change in building access was designed with that in mind. Marist was an outlier in allowing students to swipe their way into any residence hall. While I want us to remain a warm, friendly and accessible campus, students should have an expectation of privacy and ownership of their living spaces limited to their fellow housemates and invited guests.

Overall, even as an “open campus,” Marist is remarkably safe, thanks to the oversight of nearly 40 full-time security professionals. With thousands of coming and going visits every day, and as a pillar of the Hudson Valley that welcomes others for a variety of events and programs, it’s important to me that Marist remains open access, as most college and university campuses are. This does not come at the expense of safety, as Marist has many measures in place to monitor activity on campus and keep students safe.

As a Marist student currently abroad, what changes should I anticipate seeing on campus when I return to Marist University in the fall?

None related to the University announcement itself. We didn’t want to pair the change from Marist College to Marist University with any specific new launches or announcements, because we feel that “Marist University” better reflects who we’ve already become. It will allow us to more clearly and accurately tell the Marist story and to reach a broader audience who are searching for the robust range of things Marist already offers – 50 academic programs across six schools, 15 graduate degrees, Division 1 athletics, a branch campus in Florence, and unique/renowned things like the Marist Poll, a fashion program and the best study abroad offerings of any of our peers.

That said, there is a renewed buzz, energy, and a source of pride in the wake of the name change that exceeds anything I had hoped. The bookstore is routinely sold out of Marist University gear (they’ll get more!), and attendance at games is way up. When you return, I hope you immediately can feel the difference the way I do every day. Students will also come back to a completed track and turf field project which will see tons of usage by varsity club and intramural teams, as well for general student, faculty and staff wellbeing.

What would you say is your favorite genre of music? What album or albums would you recommend for said genre?

I’m not going to be much help here because my music library is frozen in time either before students were born or from their toddler years. I’ll always have a soft spot for Springsteen and Tom Petty (though my most memorable concert was a Petty show in Indianapolis opened by Lenny Kravitz who had just released his first album “Let Love Rule” and completely tore it up…that’s still one of my favorite albums). Probably my most enduring favorites are songs from the 90s alternative era. Back then I mostly liked to crank songs from bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction as loud as my Ford Escort’s car stereo would go (I played compact discs in my portable player plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter jack, all things that happily no longer exist).

As my eardrums deteriorated and my tastes got quieter, I’ve gravitated to middle-aged people music like The Decemberists, Arcade Fire (“The Suburbs” is my “deserted island” album), Death Cab for Cutie, Heartless Bastards and The Samples. Throw in some Irish rock from Flogging Molly and some jam band tunes from Phish, Dispatch and the Disco Biscuits, and that pretty much covers it.

Since it's Oscar’s season, what are your four favorite films?

This one is going to skew a little older since most of my movie knowledge comes from my BK era (before kids). Even now as semi-empty nesters Beth and I don’t get to the movie theater as much as we should. We only saw “Wicked” and “A Complete Unknown” this year (four thumbs up!). My most memorable movies are the ones that were so good I can remember where I first saw them. We saw “The Big Lebowski" in a packed arthouse in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and I’ve never laughed so hard (though another Coen Brothers movie, “No Country for Old Men”, is probably the most gripping film I’ve seen. No soundtrack at all just adds to the suspense). The only film I’ve ever watched twice in a theater was “Saving Private Ryan” while I was on a summer internship in Phoenix though that might have been as much to get out of the heat as for the remarkable opening D-Day sequence. Finally, I of course will always have a soft spot for “Rudy,” not only because I’m an extra in it but because it was filmed my senior year at Notre Dame and we all got to watch all that goes into making a film. It opened my eyes and expanded my appreciation for the craft of filmmaking.