Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Join us for one of our Fall Open Houses and experience our beautiful, riverfront campus firsthand. Learn more about Marist’s academic experience, the admissions process, and get an inside look at life as a Red Fox! You'll have the opportunity to hear directly from students, faculty, and staff about what makes the Marist Community so special. Register Below:
Ask the Faculty is an Inside Marist recurring series that features top experts on the most pressing and interesting topics of our time, providing insight into societal issues, cultural touchstones, technological developments and other hot topics.
Today's Topic:
The papal conclave, one of the world’s oldest traditions, begins tomorrow. Rooted in the Roman Catholic Church and held in Vatican City—the smallest country in the world—it holds global significance, affecting more than a billion people. Marist faculty explore the historical, cultural, and spiritual weight of this centuries-old process and the place that continues to shape it.
In 2005, as a graduate student beginning my dissertation on how ancient Greek philosophy shaped the Renaissance, I found myself in Rome during a historic turning point. My advisor—an expert in long-lost ideas and manuscripts—invited me to join him and introduced me to the Vatican Library. With modest grant funding, I booked a flight, unaware of how extraordinary the timing would be.
Pope John Paul II had been ill for months and passed away that April. My time in Rome coincided with the lead-up to the papal conclave soon thereafter—the ancient and secretive process through which a new pope is chosen. Cardinals from around the world gathered in Vatican City and would then be sequestered within the Sistine Chapel. Once inside, they are cut off from all outside communication, casting ballots in a centuries-old ritual steeped in symbolism. The world then watches for signs of white smoke, signaling the election of a new pope, which would be Pope Benedict XVI.
Accessing the Vatican Library was no small feat. It was the culmination of years of study of philosophy, Latin, and paleography. Gaining access to the library required a formal application, a scholar’s endorsement, and an interview with the librarian. With my advisor’s backing, I received a coveted pass and entered one of the world’s most exclusive research spaces, gaining access to some of the rarest books and manuscripts on Earth.
Each morning, I traversed the city to the Vatican, showed my pass to the Swiss Guards stationed at Porta di Santa Anna, and walked through the gate to Vatican City. The Vatican is a warren of narrow streets with buildings upon buildings. The noise of Rome is muffled behind the walls, and the library is a short walk past the papal residence and administrative buildings.
Being in the Vatican at such a moment was more than an academic opportunity—it was a convergence of history and tradition with my own scholarly development. In my teaching at Marist, I teach ancient texts and worldviews, and I often return to my experiences with books and manuscripts at the Vatican to illustrate how ancient ideas continue to shape the contemporary world.
Dr. Anne Zahradnik: Associate Professor of Health Care Administration
Dr. Anne Zahradnik is an Associate Professor of Health Care Administration whose research centers on program evaluation and communication in health care policy. Photo by Al Nowak/On Location.
In healthcare administration, AI is already being used to predict patient needs, manage staffing, and streamline operations. That’s exciting. But it also raises important questions about how those decisions are shaped, and whom they’re ultimately serving.
At Marist, I work with students to unpack those questions. In one class, we examine an AI tool used by hospitals to flag patients likely to miss follow-up appointments. It sounds helpful, and often is—but then we ask: What data is the system using? Could it unintentionally penalize patients who don’t have stable housing or easy access to transportation? That’s when the conversation shifts from how it works to who it’s really working for.
That’s why I’m so glad Marist is launching the Applied AI minor. It’s not about turning everyone into a data scientist—it’s about helping students in any major think critically about the systems shaping their fields. Whether you’re going into healthcare, business, communications, or policy, understanding how AI influences decision-making is quickly becoming part of being professionally fluent.
Professor Brian Gormanly: Senior Professional Lecturer of Computer Science
Professor Brian Gormanly is a Senior Professional Lecturer of Computer Science with over 15 years of industry experience as a software engineer and entrepreneur, specializing in scalable systems, cloud computing, and IoT (Internet of Things) applications. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist University.
I believe it is critically important for students to understand how to thoughtfully and strategically integrate AI tools into their work. I've encouraged Marist students to actively engage with AI so they can genuinely appreciate both its strengths and its limitations. My goal is for students to develop a clear understanding of when AI can effectively amplify their abilities and when it’s best to rely on their own judgment and creativity.
To support this, I have actively contributed to our new interdisciplinary Applied AI minor and created a new special topics course called "Applied AI in Software Development," which I am teaching for the first time during the Spring ’25 semester. This course addresses emerging trends and real-time developments in AI, many of which are unfolding even as we study them, highlighting the dynamic nature of the field.
It is essential for students to cultivate a balanced approach to AI, recognizing it as an assistant that enhances their unique voice and capabilities rather than as a replacement for critical thinking and personal insight. Understanding how AI shapes workflows, influences decision-making, and interacts with human values is essential, no matter what professional path they pursue.
Dr. Sasha Biro: Lecturer of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Dr. Sasha Biro (center) is a Lecturer of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Her research focuses on the role of myth in contemporary philosophical thought and its cultural significance. Photo by Alexanda Rossi, Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.
One aspect of AI that I think is critically important for students to understand, no matter what career path they take, is responsible usage. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, it’s critical to understand AI’s capabilities and limitations to ensure we are applying this technology ethically. What makes AI especially fascinating is its ability to aggregate responses to philosophical dilemmas humans have wrestled with for centuries.
Take the the classic thought experiment, the trolley problem, which poses the question: Is it morally permissible to actively cause harm to one person if doing so will save a greater number of people? With the emergence of autonomous vehicles, this dilemma isn’t just hypothetical, it offers a striking example of utilitarian consequentialism in practice.
Who decides how a vehicle should respond in a moral crisis? And on what basis? Who is best positioned to determine such outcomes? These kinds of questions highlight the need for understanding the ethical dimensions of AI, from agency and responsibility to bias and fairness. AI doesn’t ‘think' in a human sense. Instead, it predicts outcomes based on past data patterns. That makes it all the more important to examine the human choices behind AI development and use. At the heart of it all is the need to center the human to ensure that our values, judgments, and social responsibilities guide how these technologies are designed and implemented in the world.
Dr. Gissella Bejarano: Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Gissella Bejarano is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science whose research focuses on machine learning for sequential data, including sign language processing and smart city forecasting. Photo by Carlo de Jesus/Marist University.
As AI systems increasingly generate code and automate decisions, it's essential for students to develop both computational thinking skills and soft skills. By learning how to break down problems and assess logic, they become capable of understanding, reviewing, and correcting AI-generated outputs. This empowers them to see themselves as professionals who can collaborate with AI tools to enhance creativity, productivity, initiative, and responsibility.
From my perspective, these abilities need to be nurtured from the ground up, in thoughtful and controlled learning environments—after all, we don’t teach a child to do arithmetic by simply handing them a calculator.
Finally, it's critical that students are encouraged to share their knowledge and support diverse participation, recognizing that technology reflects the perspectives of its creators. We must ensure that no one is left out of the design or implementation process, especially as AI continues to shape our shared future.
To book an interview with a Marist faculty expert, contact the Media Relations team.
The state-of-the-art complex is now home to Division I teams, club sports, and campus recreation. Fueled by community support, it marks a new era for Marist athletics and wellness.
After a record-setting year, Marist’s student-run retail store and experiential learning hub, unveils Homecoming: Better Together theme at its Steel Plant location and online.
