Institution

Marist to Take Lead on Iconic Mindset List in 2019

Julia Fishman
Marist College Murray Student Center Rotunda
Al Nowak/On Location Studio
 

October 25, 2018—The Mindset List, an annual compilation of what has always and never been true for new college freshmen, will change hands from founder Beloit College to Marist College next year.

This year’s list, assessing the life experience of the class of 2022, included such notable information as: they have always been able to refer to Wikipedia; outer space has never been without human habitation; and they’ve grown up with stories about where their grandparents were when JFK was assassinated and where their parents were on 9/11.

Created at Beloit in 1998 to reflect the world view of entering first year students—and to help faculty understand incoming classes—the list started with the members of the class of 2002, born in 1980. In the 20 years since, The Mindset List has been a valuable marker of social, economic, and cultural change for successive generations as they have progressed through American institutions of higher education. The list receives worldwide media coverage and its website has nearly one million visits per year.

With the release of its most recent list last August, Beloit announced it would no longer be at the helm. “We are excited to have been leading the way on this innovative project for so long,” said creator Ron Nief, Public Affairs Director Emeritus at Beloit. “Now we look forward to our next chapter and to the future of The Mindset List at Marist.” Nief and co-editor Tom McBride, Beloit Emeritus Professor of English, and list co-author Beloit Professor of Sociology Charles Westerberg will work with Marist during the transition.

“This annual list is a cultural touchstone,” noted Marist’s Executive Vice President Geoffrey Brackett. “Every year Ron, Tom, and Charles have done the remarkable work of encapsulating a changing world into a cohesive list. The list has served as a reminder to the wider community of colleges and universities of the importance of understanding the constantly altering landscape outside of higher education. Marist hopes to continue that service by taking on The Mindset List and strategically expanding its capabilities and reach.”

The College is poised to do just that. Marist is home to the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which houses the nationally recognized and respected Marist Poll, a natural fit for the development of the list. This fall, Marist announced a new endeavor: the College will open the Marist Health Quest School of Medicine in 2022. With a campus in Florence, Italy, academic programming in Paris, Dublin, and other cities, and a new Executive Center in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the breadth of the College’s reach has never been stronger.

The Marist Mindset List will be released in August 2019.

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