2026 Honorary Degree Recipients

Kevin S. Law, executive vice president and partner at TRITEC Development Group and chair of its affordable housing team, and Krishnan Kumar, M.D., a clinical professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the university’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), will receive honorary degrees at New York Institute of Technology’s 65th commencement on Sunday, May 17, at the university’s Long Island campus.

Law will receive a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in recognition of his leadership and lifelong commitment to the growth and vitality of Long Island. Following the conferral of degrees, Law will deliver the keynote address to the Class of 2026. Kumar will receive a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in appreciation for his sustained commitment to mentorship, collaboration, and the advancement of osteopathic medical education. “Through his work in business, government, and regional development, Kevin Law has advanced innovation and entrepreneurship across Long Island, reflecting the values we seek to instill in our graduates. Likewise, Krishnan Kumar’s distinguished career embodies a lifelong commitment to compassionate care, medical education, and service, as well as a deep dedication to our students and the future of medicine,” says Jerry Balentine, D.O., president of New York Tech.

Kevin S. Law

Law joined TRITEC following a 10-year tenure as president and chief executive officer of the Long Island Association, during which he made it one of the most respected business organizations in New York State. His efforts on economic development and creating a better business climate on Long Island to strengthen it as a place to live, work, and do business helped to shape public policy locally and throughout the state. In this role, he helped secure more than $5 billion for the Long Island region for infrastructure investments.

In addition to his work with TRITEC, Law continues to serve the region and state in several capacities and remains passionate about the growth of Long Island and its affordable housing opportunities. He is the chairman of both the Stony Brook University Council and the Long Island Housing Partnership, a not-for-profit developer of affordable housing. Most recently, he was confirmed by the New York State Senate as a director of the Empire State Development Corporation and designated as chairman of Empire State Development by Governor Kathy Hochul.

He received an Associate of Arts from Suffolk County Community College, a Bachelor of Arts from Stony Brook University, a Master of Science from the Graduate School of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College, and a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law. He also completed a leadership program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Krishnan Kumar, M.D.

Kumar serves as a clinical professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine for NYITCOM. He joined the faculty in 2011 and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board. In 2024, he established the Kumar Family Scholarship to benefit a fourth-year medical student.

Kumar is the former chair and program director of Nassau University Medical Center’s Department of Pediatrics. He also previously served as an associate professor of pediatrics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, as an attending physicians in the emergency medicine departments at New York-Presbyterian Queens and Coney Island Hospital, and as the medical director for Nassau County Fire Police EMS Academy.

He graduated from Kanpur Medical College in India in 1977 and emigrated to the United States in 1984. He joined Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y., as a resident and became associate director of emergency medicine in 1988.

Kumar is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Medicine, and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics. He is also a member of the New York State Board of Medicine and serves as the vice president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), the second-largest medical association in the United States.  

Read the full bios.