2026 Honorary Doctorate Recipient
Dear Colleagues:
As the semester draws to a close and we approach commencement, I am pleased to announce
that we will be conferring an honorary doctorate this year for the first time since
2017.
Farmingdale State College and the State University of New York are proud to be awarding
an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) to Murray Pasternack, AAS ’60, during
our 2026 commencement exercises on May 22 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Many of you know of Murray through his generous contributions that have impacted Farmingdale
students and programming over the last several years. His $5 million gift in 2025
to fund scholarships, student support, and STEM programming will endow 56 four-year
scholarships annually across all 15 majors in the Pasternack School of Engineering
Technology. In 2024 he supported the creation of the student-managed investment fund
and trading room in the School of Business, and in 2023 he funded the radio frequency
and microwave technology lab in Lupton Hall. Together with his wife Judy, he is the
largest individual donor in FSC history, with more than $8 million in personal giving
over the past five years.
It is important to remember the journey that leads someone to a life of giving back.
Today Murray is an engineer, entrepreneur, attorney, and philanthropist, but that
journey began right here with an Associate of Applied Science degree in electrical
technology from Farmingdale State College. We will hear more of Murray’s inspirational
path to success when he addresses students, faculty, staff, and guests at our 105th
commencement exercises later this month. More details can be found here. [link to
web story]
I would like to thank those who submitted nominations and the review committee for
their time and commitment to this year-long SUNY process. As a reminder, members of
the FSC community can now submit nominations for the 2027 Honorary Doctorate Degree
recipient via this online form until June 15, 2026.
Robert S. Prezant, PhD
President
Professor of Biology
