Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. By 1969, the college had become private with a predominantly lay board of trustees and in 2003, the Catholic Church recognized Marist as a secular institution. In 1929, Marist became accredited by the state to offer a wider range of degrees in the arts and sciences.