Marist U. Plans New Science Building To Expand Courses, Research, Careers
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY—Marist University announced on May 12 a major new $100-million Science and Health Initiative by a new state-of-the-art academic facility geared at strengthening Marist’s role in preparing the next generation of scientists and healthcare leaders.
The Science and Health Initiative is a long-term strategy to address growing societal and workforce needs. Among the goals will be to strengthen its current academic offerings and launching new fields of study. With the new facility, the university hopes to attract exceptional students and faculty as well as advance team-based learning and research.
“This is a long‑term investment in Marist’s academic strength, momentum and purpose,” said Marist University President Kevin C. Weinman. “Science and health careers are growing and evolving rapidly but technical knowledge alone isn’t enough.”
A new, 100,000/sf Science and Health building will anchor the Initiative, providing cutting-edge spaces for teaching, research, and collaboration.
Early designs envision a new building that will connect seamlessly to Marist’s existing Allied Health facility, tripling the size of the current facility and creating a fully integrated Science and Health Complex. Interdisciplinary design firm HGA, which has won multiple national awards for its work, is leading the design of Marist’s new facility. HGA’s previous work includes a biomedical research center for the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University; teaching and research labs at Dartmouth College; and an integrated health sciences facility at Lehigh University.
Marist is currently working with town leaders and planning officials on required approvals in hopes of a groundbreaking this fall and opening during the 2028-29 academic year.
Demand for science and health-related education continues to grow nationwide. Looking ahead, the university is taking the early steps necessary to add a new Nursing curriculum, pending state approval, in addition to a Physics major that would be coupled with partnership pathways into Engineering programs in collaboration with other top-tier universities.
This initiative affirms the importance of Marist’s full spectrum of scientific and health disciplines—from foundational sciences to applied health fields. Combined with employer demand and strong lifetime earnings, these fields will position Marist as a national pipeline for educating future purpose-driven professionals, including environmental scientists, chemists, microbiologists, physician assistants, registered nurses, and physical therapists, the university stated.
Marist recently expanded its collaboration with Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Northern Dutchess Hospital, now part of Northwell Health, which is one of the largest healthcare systems in the nation, giving students access to hands-on clinical experiences across more than 1,000 care locations and 28 hospitals. Northwell is among a variety of clinical partners Marist works with to ensure students have broad access to clinical rotations.
Published: May 26, 2026.