May 12, 2026 — Across decades of service, longtime Marist employees have watched the University transform around them — new buildings rise, programs expand, traditions evolve, and generations of students pass through campus.

At the Milestone and Farewell Reception, the memories that rose to the top were about the people who made Marist feel like Marist: colleagues who became friends, students who became part of their lives, and a culture of caring that made their work feel meaningful.

For the last 36 years, Dining Services’ kitchen was his sanctuary, said retiring Chef Jay Misasi, who has cooked over four million meals and commuted more than 600,000 miles, according to his calculations.

“I always came to work no matter what. As long as I was back here cooking, I knew everything was OK,” Misasi said during the April 27 breakfast event in the Cabaret, where he received a standing ovation.

 
Jay Misasi reflects on his 36-year career as a chef during the Milestone and Farewell Reception. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist University.

A Celebration of Service, Care, and Community
Together, this year’s honorees represented 2,025 years of service to Marist, with careers in academics, athletics, technology, facilities, finance, clergy, and leadership. The reception celebrated employees marking milestones from five to 50 years of service, along with retirees whose careers left a lasting imprint on students, colleagues, and the University itself. President Kevin Weinman said their collective impact is part of what gives Marist its character.

“We can look out the windows of the Cab and admire the beautiful campus, but we wouldn’t be Marist without the people,” Weinman said. “The kindness, the passion for this place, the sense of care for each other, and the way this community carries itself. That does not happen by accident.”

That sense of community was echoed by Controller Christina Kearney, who reached her decade anniversary. She said Marist is “an amazing place to work” with people who “watch out for each other, help each other, and give back.”

A Changing Campus, A Constant Community
For many of the honored guests, community has been the constant through decades of remarkable change across campus. Their careers helped define chapters in the University’s history, from the rise of Marist’s “Computer U” reputation and the construction of Lowell Thomas, to the addition of Varsity teams and the institution’s evolution into a university.

Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, remembered a campus that looked very different.

“I would park where we now hold graduation — that was mud,” said Miringoff, a 50-year milestone honoree. “I would walk up the steps to my office in the old Fontaine, which is now the library. Everything is different.”

 
Event attendees give Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, a standing ovation for his 50 years of service. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist University.

As the campus transformed around him, Miringoff said the rewarding work of the institute has always energized him. He described his career as second only to playing “centerfield for the Yankees.”

Though the Marist Poll has brought national acclaim to the University, Miringoff said its purpose has always been rooted in education.

“We get a lot of attention to the Poll, but it’s always been about the students and their education,” he said. That mission was reinforced recently in Washington, D.C., where Miringoff connected students with professionals in politics and journalism, as well as Marist Poll alumni already making their mark in those fields.

Careers Rooted in Students
That student-centered purpose was echoed by Alyssa Gates, whose Marist career began as a 10-month position with the Center for Student-Athlete Enhancement and grew into two decades of supporting student-athletes through a changing college athletics landscape.

 
Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Enhancement Alyssa Gates was recognized for 20 years of service. Photo by Nelson Echeverria/Marist University.

For Gates, the most meaningful moments have come not only from watching student-athletes succeed at Marist, but from staying connected as their lives continue after graduation.

“Watching our student-athletes achieve success in their sport, their classroom, watching them graduate, go to their weddings, hold their babies — that’s been my favorite thing about this position,” she said.

As this year’s honorees reflected on careers measured not only in years, but in meals served, students mentored, classes taught, relationships built, and lives changed, Misasi offered a simple hope for those who will continue Marist’s story.

“Even though the place is bigger now, I hope people still take the time to be kind, look out for one another, and appreciate their time here,” he said.

Read more about the impactful careers of this year’s retirees here.