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About
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for a Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
About
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Academics
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for a Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
Academics
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Admission & Financial Aid
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for a Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
Admission & Financial Aid
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Student Life
Marist Fall 2026 Open House
Join us for a Fall Open House and see Marist for yourself. Explore our stunning riverfront campus, learn more about academics and admissions, and get a firsthand look at life as a Red Fox. Along the way, you'll hear from students, faculty, and staff about the opportunities, connections, and experiences that make Marist special. Register Below:
Student Life
- Athletics
Marist-IBM Innovation Incubator
Innovation, Research, and Experiential Learning
Marist-IBM Innovation Incubator
Innovation, Research, and Experiential Learning
Where Industry, Technology, and the Classroom Come Together
Unlike traditional academic-industry relationships that may focus on individual academic departments, the Marist-IBM collaboration is designed to create impact across the University—from political science, communication, marketing, and business to environmental science, library sciences, and beyond.
Marist's work with IBM started over 50 years ago and has proven the value of employer partnerships in helping prepare students with industry skills and hands-on learning so they graduate ready for the workforce. Now with the launch of the Innovation Incubator, IBM's leadership in enterprise AI, alongside its pioneering work in quantum computing, provides Marist students and faculty access to technologies shaping the future of business, industry research, and computing.
Advancing the Marist + AI Strategy
The Marist-IBM Innovation Incubator advances the University’s comprehensive strategy to ensure students across disciplines are prepared to understand, use, and shape AI in their fields.
Explore Marist + AI Strategy >
National Recognition
Marist Named One of 15 Best Colleges Preparing Students for the AI Economy
Town & Country recognized Marist for its interdisciplinary approach to AI education, combining hands-on learning, technical preparation, and ethical reflection.
Read More >
Enterprise Technology, in the Hands of Students and Faculty
Marist students and faculty have access to an IBM z17 mainframe with advanced AI computing capabilities to support research, application development, and experiential learning. Designed for the needs of large organizations, the z17 gives students hands-on experience in an enterprise-scale computing environment. Through faculty-mentored research and collaboration with industry experts, students across disciplines can develop and test applications, explore emerging uses of AI, and apply advanced technology to increasingly complex real-world questions.
Innovative Projects In Action
The Marist-IBM Innovation Incubator supports interdisciplinary projects that bring together students, faculty, IBM expertise, and enterprise technology. Current areas of exploration include:
AI in Marketing and Business
The Schools of Computer Science and Mathematics and Management are planning to run controlled, synthetic marketing campaigns operated by autonomous AI-agent teams to stress-test whether built-in guardrails remain effective when agents pursue aggressive, deceptive, or unethical tactics and whether those guardrails can contain those failures.
AI for Financial Management
The Schools of Management and Computer Science and Mathematics are jointly scoping a project that would use quantum optimization algorithms to analyze real-time financial data and generate optimal portfolio allocations.
AI and Civic Engagement
A proposed project involving the Marist Poll and School of Computer Science and Mathematics would explore how AI could improve polling methodologies and survey design, and better model voter participation trends.
Leading the Marist-IBM Innovation Incubator
The real opportunity is bringing together students and faculty from different disciplines with IBM technology and expertise to explore meaningful questions. Students don’t have to be technologists to benefit. We want them to understand how these tools can be applied in their fields and to gain that experience while they’re at Marist."
– Dominick Foti
IBM Relationship Manager and Professional Lecturer of Computing Sciences
Marist History with IBM
While the partnership originally centered on enterprise computing and computer science education, Marist and IBM are now broadening their collaboration into a university-wide innovation ecosystem focused on artificial intelligence, interdisciplinary research, and experiential learning opportunities for students across majors. The goal is to connect students with faculty researchers and IBM subject matter experts on projects addressing societal, business, and community challenges.
As employers increasingly seek graduates with experience applying AI, data, and emerging technologies to real-world challenges, the Marist-IBM partnership provides students with a unique advantage: direct exposure to enterprise-scale technology, applied research, experiential learning opportunities, and, where appropriate, IBM expertise relevant to specific projects that help bridge classroom learning with career success.
Coding and AI are not just passions for Christian—they're his calling.
Inspired by AI and Human Potential, Christian Sarmiento '25, a data science and analytics major, dives into hands-on learning and research to uncover endless ways AI can shape the future. He also leads campus-wide talks on the responsible use of this revolutionary tech across industries. That's because Christian sees more than just data—he sees the human impact of innovation.
A Legacy of Hands-On Experiences
Through Marist’s collaboration with IBM, Lillian conducted cybersecurity research, connected with industry professionals, presented her work at conferences, and gained internship experience that helped lead to a full-time job offer.
"It has helped me build my confidence and has allowed me to grow my network within my future career."
Read about Lillian's Precision Time Protocol cybersecurity research >
Lillian McPadden '25
Built on Decades of Student Research
Amanda worked with IBM mentors to develop cryptographic tools for IBM z/OS and supported work on emerging quantum-safe security standards. She presented research in England and earned a Best New Speaker award.
"I am so grateful for the opportunity to delve into the world of computer science hands-on through real-world projects, corporate atmosphere, incredible coworkers, presentation opportunities, and more."
Read about her work on quantum-safe cryptography for IBM z/OS >
Amanda Potenza '25
Frequently Asked Questions
The relationship originally centered primarily on enterprise computing and computer science education. Over more than five decades, it has grown into a broader academic and industry partnership. This next phase expands the relationship further, connecting IBM technology and expertise with interdisciplinary research, experiential learning, artificial intelligence, and career preparation across the University.
No. The Innovation Incubator is a collaborative research framework rather than a physical location. It provides a structure through which Marist and IBM can identify and support projects that bring together students, faculty, industry experts, and IBM technology.
No. Expanding access beyond computer science is one of the most important aspects of this next phase of the partnership. Projects are expected to involve faculty and students from multiple disciplines as Marist explores how AI and other emerging technologies affect areas including business, communications, civic engagement, research, and other professional fields.
The work of the Marist-IBM Joint Study continues through the Innovation Incubator, which represents an evolution of the longstanding partnership. While the Joint Study was historically centered on enterprise computing, the Innovation Incubator broadens that foundation to support interdisciplinary research and emerging applications, including artificial intelligence, across a wider range of academic areas.
Those interested in learning more about the Innovation Incubator or exploring how the IBM z17 could support interdisciplinary research are encouraged to connect with Dominick Foti, Marist's IBM relationship manager, at dominick.foti@marist.edu.
