Paul Jacob Reiss (born 1930) was the 14th president of

Saint Michael's College Saint Michael's College (St. Mikes or Saint Michael's) is a private Roman Catholic college in Colchester, Vermont. Saint Michael's was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund. It grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees i ...

. During his tenure, 80 percent of the College's facilities were newly built or renovated, and there was extensive computerization on campus. In 1989, he was an American representative at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

consultation that led to '' Ex corde Ecclesiae''. Reiss earned a B.S., ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'', from the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

, an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1954, and a

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from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Reiss taught at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

(1957–1963) and then at Fordham (1963–1985). From 1969 until he left Fordham to become President of Saint Michael's (from which he retired as President

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in 1996) he worked in administration as

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, Vice President, and Executive Vice President. Reiss was named Vermont Distinguished citizen of the year in 1996 and was awarded honorary degrees by Middlebury College and Showa University of Japan. Reiss's published works in sociology are primarily concerned with family, kinship, higher education, and moral values in

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

education. Since the 1960s, Reiss and his wife Rosemary have tenaciously and successfully overseen the mission of a foundation established by his father Julian to operate summer camps for underserved children from New York City that focus on academics, leadership and recreation in Lake Placid, NY. Reiss finished his book titled ''Dad'' in 2000. The memoir contains stories about his family, mostly referring to the accomplishments of his ancestors. After his retirement from St Michael's College, Reiss served several years as President of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta and as the founding Chairman of Mercy Care for the Adirondacks. Reiss was married to the former Rosemary A. Donohue for over 60 years, until her passing in 2023. They have nine children, 30 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reiss, Paul 1930 births Living people Fordham University alumni Harvard University alumni Saint Michael's College College of the Holy Cross alumni Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Roman Catholic scholars