After marrying Rosemary Agnes Donohue, a student at
Emmanuel College, in 1955, Reiss joined the sociology faculty of
Marquette University in 1957 and moved to
Wisconsin. Her taught there until 1963, and then moved to
Fordham University (1963–1985). From 1969 until 1985, he worked in Fordham's administration as
Dean, Vice President, and Executive Vice President before leaving to become President of Saint Michael's (from which he retired as President
Emeritus in 1996) he worked in administration as
Dean, 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 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. == Personal life and death ==