Guests

New York Tech’s 62nd Annual Commencement begins at 9 a.m. on May 21, 2023, with the college-wide Commencement Ceremony (approximately two hours) in the Main Tent. This is followed by individual school ceremonies where graduates are individually recognized (except the College of Osteopathic Medicine Hooding, which is held separately.

Admission to commencement is by ticket only. An electronic ticket grants acesss to main ceremony and the indivudal school ceremonies. Each student receives a maximum of four tickets. All guests require a ticket, including children. The graduating student does not require a ticket. Tickets must be presented to gain admittance. Additional tickets are not available.

Having a ticket does not guarantee a seat. Seating in main tent is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Once seating in the main tent is filled, all ticketed guests will be directed to an overflow tent for viewing. Tent opens at 8:30 a.m.

In the Neighborhood

At New York Tech’s Long Island campus, you’re in the center of Long Island’s fabled Gold Coast, near beaches, cultural attractions, and charming villages. Enjoy nearby:

• Hotels

Long Island

Here are a few of the accommodation options near the Long Island campus in Old Westbury, New York:

Andrew Hotel
75 North Station Plaza
Great Neck, NY 11021
516.482.2900

Courtyard by Marriott Westbury Long Island
1800 Privado Road
Westbury, NY 11590
516.542.1001

Four Points by Sheraton Plainview
333 South Service Road
Plainview, NY 11803
516.694.6500

Garden City Hotel
45 Seventh Street
Garden City, NY 11530
516.747.3000 or 800.547.0400

Hilton Garden Inn
1575 Privado Road
Westbury, NY 11590
516.683.8200

Hilton Garden Inn Roslyn
3 Harbor Park Drive
Port Washington, NY 11050
516.626.3600

Holiday Inn Westbury
369 Old Country Road
Carle Place, NY 11514
516.213.0913

Homewood Suites by Hilton
1585 Round Swamp Road
Plainview, NY 11803
516.293.4663 or 800.644.6835

Melville Marriott
1350 Old Walt Whitman Road
Melville, NY 11747
631.423.1600 or 800.228.9290

The Roslyn Hotel
1221 Old Northern Blvd.
Roslyn, NY 11576
516.625.2700

Viana Hotel and Spa
3998 Brush Hollow Road
Westbury, NY 11590
516.338.7777

New York City

New York Tech’s NYC’s campus is within walking distance of the first three hotels listed. Graduates can request complimentary round-trip shuttle service from the Manhattan campus.

6 Columbus
6 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
212.204.3000

The Empire Hotel
44 W. 63rd St.
New York, NY 10023
212.265.7400

The Hudson Hotel
356 West 58th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.554.6000

See more nearby attractions and resources »

Directions, Parking, and Shuttle Service

•DIRECTIONS, PARKING, AND SHUTTLE SERVICE

Traffic

Because of the number of visitors, on-campus parking is limited and normal traffic patterns DO NOT apply! Upon arrival, please follow the directions of the police and the parking staff.

Parking

On-campus parking will be closed shortly after the commencement ceremony begins. Guests who arrive after campus parking lots are filled will be re-directed to the adjacent LIU Post campus on Northern Boulevard, just east of New York Tech-Old Westbury, and transported via shuttle bus to the main tent. Please allow yourself extra time for delays and parking. It is also encouraged to have the graduate and their guests travel together in one car.

Directions to Campus

Shuttle Service on Campus

Shuttle service around campus, as well as from the LlU Post campus, will be available. Staff will direct graduates and guests to pick-up/drop-off locations. Some parking fields are within walking distance of the tents.

LIRR – Manhasset Train Station

Complimentary round-trip shuttle service will be available to and from the Manhasset LIRR train station. Trains arriving at the Manhasset station from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. will be met by a shuttle bus to campus. Anyone arriving after 10:30 a.m. will need to arrange for cab service. Shuttle buses will leave for the Manhasset LIRR station from noon to 2:30 p.m.

MANHASSET LIRR SCHEDULE

New York Tech- Manhattan Round-Trip Shuttle

Complimentary round-trip shuttle service will be available from the Manhattan campus on a first-come, first-served basis. Graduates are allowed to reserve a total of five seats. Space is limited. Reservations are on a first come first serve basis. The shuttles will depart in front of 1855 Broadway at 7 a.m. Please note: The last bus to leave from the Long Island campus to New York City campus after commencement will depart at 3 p.m. There may be wait times of one hour between bus departures.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT ON THE BUS

DISABILITY AND SPECIAL ASSISTANCE

New York Tech is pleased to provide assistance to guests with special needs. Commencement staff is available to direct and assist people with disabilities. Restroom facilities are located near the tents.

Shuttle service with wheelchair access is available. For those guests with disabilities, please drop off any guest requiring special assistance at the bus stop in each lot and then park your car. Upon arrival to the main tent, proceed to the Disability and Special Assistance tent where ushers will assist via golf carts. Only the person with the disability is able to ride in the cart; other guests are asked to walk.

Please plan to arrive by 8:30 a.m. in order to ensure timely assistance.

If you are a student who has special assistance needs, please notify us by April 28 at 516.686.1177 or commencement@nyit.edu.
contact commencement@nyit.edu.
If help is needed for hearing or visual impairment, please notify us by April 28 at 516.686.1177 or commencement@nyit.edu.
Due to high demand, guests will experience delays in shuttle service immediately before and after the ceremonies.
Guests who arrive after the campus parking lots are filled will be re-directed to LIU Post campus on Northern Boulevard just east of New York Tech, and transported via shuttle bus to the main tent.

Baggage & Personal Items

Refreshments will be available for purchase outside on the tennis courts.

Food and Beverages

Luggage, large bags, backpacks, and strollers are not allowed inside the tents. There will not be a holding area for luggage on the Long Island campus. Luggage and large bags will also not be allowed on any buses. Small bags will be searched before entering into the tents.

Honorary Degree Recipients

Eli Wachtel (B.S. ’72)
Co-CIO and Founding Member of Wachtel Capital LLC

Eli Wachtel is currently the co-CIO and founding member of Wachtel Capital LLC, a hedge fund primarily engaged in classical arbitrage and opportunistically seeking investments in the private capital markets. Until August 2008, Wachtel was a senior managing director and a member of the Board of Directors of Bear Stearns & Co., Inc. (BSC). During his 27 years with BSC, he created and managed various businesses, focusing his final four years on building the firm’s energy franchise.

Under his leadership, the BSC Energy Division began with proprietary investments and trading. He expanded its activities in 2004, with the creation of Arroyo, a private equity arm, to purchase power generation assets. In 2005, he formed a joint venture with Calpine to exploit physical trading opportunities in power and natural gas, and in 2006, he formed Bear Energy, a full-fledged international energy operation with a current head count of 260 professionals. Realized and unrealized revenues during his tenure exceeded $1.35 billion.

Concurrent with his energy activities, Wachtel also headed the firm’s Strategic Structuring and Transactions (SST) department, a principal proprietary trading group engaging in classical and statistical arbitrage activities in the global capital markets. The department was also a firmwide resource for new product development and structuring. During his 10-plus years as the head of SST, the department generated $850 million in revenues and never had a losing quarter. During his tenure with the firm, Wachtel also managed the International Equities Trading department, handing it over after a tenfold increase in revenues. Other contributions included the creation and oversight of a group to assist the Private Client Services department, transforming their activities to a fee-based business. Prior to joining BSC, Wachtel was the trading partner at Bedford Partners.

Wachtel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from New York Institute of Technology and is also a Certified Public Accountant. He has four grown children and six grandchildren. He has been active on a variety of charitable boards, including his alma mater and New York Law School, where he was co-chairman of its investment committee. Besides work, Wachtel’s passion is art.

Antonio C. Bianco, M.D., Ph.D
Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago

Antonio Bianco is a physician-scientist and a writer working in the thyroid field. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. in Human Physiology in São Paulo, Brazil, and later immigrated to the United States where he maintains a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded laboratory. Together with his graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and collaborators, Bianco has published in the area of thyroid hormone metabolism and action, with implications for the treatment of patients with hypothyroidism.

His research career has focused on how T3 (triiodothyronine) initiates or terminates critical biological steps while maintaining relatively stable plasma levels. Bianco’s work has been recognized with numerous awards and elections to membership in prestigious professional societies. He served as a regular member of NIH study sections and the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and also served in different administrative capacities such as chief of endocrinology at the University of Miami and Rush University, where he also served as president of the medical practice. Bianco was elected and served as president of the American Thyroid Association in 2016.