The Marist Poll: A History of Shaping Public Discourse and Experiential Learning

The Marist Poll, conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO) in Poughkeepsie, New York, has become a trusted and accurate source of information on public opinion at the local, state, and national levels. Founded in 1978, MIPO distinguishes itself as the first college-based research center to actively involve undergraduate students in conducting survey research. Over its history, the Marist Poll has not only shaped public discourse but also provided invaluable hands-on learning opportunities for thousands of Marist College students.

Origins and Evolution

The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion was founded in 1978 by Dr. Lee M. Miringoff. The project began with a handful of undergraduate students taking exit polls in Dutchess County. The first Marist Poll was conducted on that year’s Dutchess County executive race. Students administered exit polling and found that it appeared a Democratic challenger was going to beat the incumbent Republican. MIPO has always been on the cusp of experiential learning.

Over its 46-year history, thousands of Marist College students have participated in polling, workshops, courses and seminars, field trips, and internships. As a college, Marist is dedicated to involving students in the process, not just so they can become the next George Gallup, but so they can develop communication skills, information technology skills, skills in psychology, and an understanding of political science.

Miringoff said, “As a college we are dedicated to involving students in the process. Not just so they can become the next George Gallup. We want students to develop communication skills, and develop skills in information technology, skills in psychology and an understanding of political science."

The Marist Poll was the first in the country to use undergraduate students directly in the information gathering process.

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Experiential Learning at the Forefront

Experiential learning has and always will play a role in preparing students for life after Marist. MIPO has always been on the cusp of experiential learning, and this election cycle is no different. Thousands of Marist students have benefitted and will continue to benefit from the distinctive, hands-on learning opportunities offered through the Marist Poll, including polling research, analysis, and communication.

This winter, 34 Marist students from a host of majors were given unparalleled access to American democracy during the Marist Poll’s quadrennial trip to New Hampshire for the presidential primaries. Students also went behind the scenes with national news outlets and attended live productions of NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker and MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki. The Marist Poll’s New Hampshire primary trip has taken place each presidential election cycle since 2012.

First-year student and survey assistant Christopher DeVizio ’27 sees trips like this as providing access that will pave the way for his future and career. “As a political science major, I’m getting a front row seat to a historical election process," he said. “Honestly, the opportunity to potentially work for the Marist Poll served as a deciding factor in my decision to attend Marist." Alumnus Brian Smith ’95 is living proof that DeVizio’s dreams can become reality.

Methodology and Transparency

The Marist Poll uses a rigorous, scientific-based, multi-frame approach in its survey methodology. Marist polls are typically conducted through random digit dialing in a dual frame manner, contacting both cell phones and landlines, with cell phones comprising the majority of its national sample. Marist modifies the proportion of its frames for local polling, based on data from the National Health Interview Survey.

Marist has also used a blend of phone, text, and online surveying for some polls. Marist's frames are primarily obtained from Dynata. Marist uses stratified sampling based on geography. Respondents are contacted through a Voxco computer-assisted telephone interviewing system by live interviewers, typically recruited from the undergraduate student body. Callbacks of phone contacts may be attempted depending on the result of an attempted call. As of 2024, a typical poll will see around a 1% response rate. Marist conducts weighting of survey results with US Census data on the variables of age, gender, income, race, and region.

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Additionally, the Marist Institute for Public Opinion provides a massive amount of online materials to the public. Along with exhaustive explanations of their methodologies, the institute has created the online Marist Poll Academy, which provides dozens of free multimedia courses, which go in depth into how polling works, how to determine what makes a good poll and a myriad of related topics. Miringoff says there are a lot of new opinion polling operations popping up that are “much more biased and inaccurate” than ever before.

National Recognition and Partnerships

The success of the Marist Poll is recognized worldwide by journalists and academics. The Marist Poll has shaped public discourse for decades, providing highly accurate and nuanced insights about public opinion on critical issues. The Marist Poll gains credibility with national news partnerships. MIPO published 13 national polls, conducted with NPR and PBS News, and nine battleground state polls published this academic year.

The Marist Poll partners with The Wall Street Journal and NBC for Battleground State Polling. Partners have included NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, the McClatchy News Service, NPR, and PBS News. The Marist Poll was accepted as a Charter Member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research’s Transparency Initiative in 2014.

The GenNext Survey

The Marist Poll has expanded its projects to include the creation of GenNext, a survey of young Americans that is conceived and conducted by young Americans. "There are some existing surveys that focus on younger people, but we thought it would be much more insightful to give young people the chance to decide what topics and questions to ask their peers," said Jay DeDapper, MIPO’s Director of Strategy and Innovation, who led the initiative.

Leadership and Team

The Marist Institute for Public Opinion is led by a team of experienced researchers and professionals, including:

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Lee M. Miringoff: Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO). He is the former President of the National Council of Public Polls (NCPP) and a current member of the Board of Trustees.
Barbara Carvalho: Director of the Marist Poll. She oversees the design, analysis, and communication of Marist Poll projects and results including public polling with the Marist Poll’s media partners on elections and issues. She is co-host of the Marist Poll’s weekly podcast, Poll Hub.
Jay DeDapper: Director of Strategy and Innovation. At the Poll, he leads initiatives to develop new technologies, build strategic plans, and implement innovative programs. He’s also co-host of the weekly Poll Hub podcast.
Mary Griffith: Associate Director of MIPO. As media director, Mary also serves as Executive Producer of the Poll’s podcast, Poll Hub, and oversees the Newsfeed program, a team of Marist student workers who assist with the Poll’s media projects. In addition to Mary’s work in the media unit, Mary directs the Poll’s College to Career internship program.
Daniela Vintimilla: Heads the survey center at the Marist Poll. She oversees the training and supervision of nearly 300 student interviewers and supervisors and leads the development of the Marist Poll Academy.
Mike Conte: Leads the poll’s survey solutions team and works closely with the heads of the survey center and data science on data collection and analysis operations.
Alexandra Vorstat: Leads events and operations, assists with communications, and student initiatives.
Reza Raeisi: Oversees Public Opinion Analytics Group activities in analyzing and interpreting opinion data using AI and other emerging technologies.
Rachel Wang: Manages the Public Opinion Analytics Group, which analyzes data using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and other emerging technologies.
Cassie Zappone: Oversees office operations, event coordination, and finance.
Stephanie Cogan: Manages Marist Poll research projects including questionnaire development and programming, sample design and implementation, data processing, and analysis of results. Additionally, she oversees all of MIPO’s polling technology and supervises data students in the Poll’s College to Career program.

Impact on Students and Alumni

The Marist Poll provides unparalleled access to American democracy. The Marist Poll was, and is, a recognizable name and gives students a leg up in any interview process or job search. For current student Ethan Solury ’26, poll results have aided his understanding of where Americans are right now. "Everything is all over the place so it’s hard to really know what to expect,” said the political science major.

Recent graduate Athen Hollis ’24 began working on the Marist Poll podcast her sophomore year. “My combined experience has equipped me to tackle anything that involves social media and research,” she said. Alumnus Brian Smith ’95 is living proof that DeVizio’s dreams can become reality. His decades-long career in healthcare has led him to serve as Executive Director of Alliance Development and Strategy Advocacy for Merck.

Challenges and Future Directions

While experiential learning has and always will play a role in preparing students for life after Marist, Mary Griffith, Associate Director of MIPO, says the field of polling is always changing. “The computer and communications revolution has changed over the years, and we have as well,” said Griffith. Miringoff said, “We shed our technological skin every couple of years. The field has changed radically in many ways, not the least of which is in how we reach people, and how we gather the information. Fortunately, Marist has very advanced computer software and technology (because of our) relationship with IBM and other organizations that we have partnered with."

Miringoff says there are a lot of new opinion polling operations popping up that are “much more biased and inaccurate” than ever before. The organization is forward thinking. It’s always a developing scenario, which I love.

Beyond Politics

While most of the polls are political in nature, MIPO does frequently conduct polls deemed to be in other areas of public interest. During the summer of 2013, MIPO announced they have conducted a survey on Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in Major League Baseball. Specifically, the poll asked whether or not players linked to clinics that provide PEDs, such as Biogenesis, should be suspended-even if they did not fail a drug test.

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