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Commencement 2026 brings together a group of voices shaping the world in real time. We’re proud to announce our 2026 Honorary Degree Recipients and speakers—leaders in journalism, healthcare, law, and business whose work informs, protects, and moves communities forward.

From reporting on the front lines of global events to expanding access to care and advancing justice, these honorees reflect the kind of impact our graduates are poised to make.

LESTER HOLT

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Journalist and anchor, NBC News 
Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at the Main Ceremony 

Lester Holt is an award-winning journalist and anchor at NBC News, best known for his decade as anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News and as principal anchor of Dateline NBC. He has covered wars, disasters, and political turning points from the ground—including the Israel–Gaza war, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Arab Spring. His 2017 exclusive interview with President Trump remains one of the most consequential in recent broadcast history.

Holt has also led landmark work in criminal justice reform, including an Emmy-nominated series filmed inside Louisiana State Penitentiary and the first televised town hall from a maximum-security prison. He moderated the most-watched presidential debate in American history in 2016, anchored NBC’s COVID-19 primetime coverage, and launched Nightly News: Kids Edition, an award-winning digital newscast for children.

He began his career at WCBS-TV in New York in 1981 and joined NBC News in 2000. His honors include multiple Emmy Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, and induction into the National Association of Broadcasters.

MITCHELL KATZ

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President and Chief Executive Officer, NYC Health + Hospitals 
Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at the Undergraduate Ceremony for the College of Health Professions, Lubin School of Business, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems

Dr. Mitchell Katz is president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal healthcare system in the United States. Since 2018, he has expanded access through NYC Care (serving more than 100,000 uninsured New Yorkers), eliminated the system’s deficit, and led its COVID-19 response, tripling ICU capacity and administering more than 1.3 million vaccines.

Previously, Katz directed the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Earlier, he spent 13 years as Director and Health Officer of the San Francisco Department of Health, launching Healthy San Francisco and securing funding to rebuild two major hospitals.

Dr. Katz holds degrees from Yale University and Harvard Medical School, is deputy editor of JAMA Internal Medicine, and is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences. He continues to see patients in Manhattan.

PEDRO RIVERA ’12

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Journalist and co-anchor, WABC
Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at Undergraduate Ceremony for Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Sands College of Performing Arts, and School of Education 

Pedro Rivera ’12 is an Emmy- and LA Press Club Award–winning journalist and co-anchor of Eyewitness News This Morning and Eyewitness News Mornings at 10 on WABC in New York City, where he is also involved in special coverage, including the NYC Marathon and NYC Pride. 

A Bronx native, Rivera's career has taken him from Arkansas and Sacramento to Los Angeles and back to New York, covering major stories along the way—including the Uvalde school shooting, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Sandy Hook aftermath, and the deadliest wildfire in California history.

Rivera earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ and remains closely connected to his alma mater, serving on the advisory board for Dyson College of Arts and Sciences. He is also co-chair of the Afro-Latino Task Force for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

JUDGE FRANCESCA CONNOLLY ’82

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Associate Justice, New York State Supreme Court
Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at Elisabeth Haub School of Law Ceremony

The Honorable Francesca E. Connolly ’82 serves as an associate justice of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, Second Judicial Department—the busiest intermediate appellate court in the nation. Appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2016 and named to the Constitutional Bench by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022, she serves as a presiding justice and, in 2024, sat by designation on the New York Court of Appeals. She is the first Pace Law graduate appointed to the Appellate Division.

Her judicial career began in 2006 when she became the first woman elected Ossining Town justice. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2009. Her public service includes roles on the Ossining Town Council, as Deputy Town Supervisor, and time on the Town Planning Board, as well as 27 years of complex civil litigation if state and federal courts. 

Justice Connolly is a frequent CLE lecturer, published opinion author, and member of the New York State Advisory Committee on Civil Practice. She earned her BA, magna cum laude, from SUNY Albany and her JD from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ School of Law.

PETER MULLER

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Founder and Chief Executive Officer, PDT Partners 
Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at the Graduate Ceremony for the Lubin School of Business and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems

Peter Muller is the founder and CEO of PDT Partners, a leading quantitative investment firm established in 1992 and spun out of Morgan Stanley in 2012. His published research spans financial optimization, mortgage prepayments, and equity valuation models, and he serves on the board of Math for America.

Outside of finance, Muller is a pianist and singer-songwriter who has released seven albums of original music and performs regularly across the country with his band. He is also a cruciverbalist with crosswords published in major outlets, founder and board president of the Live Music Society, and an active philanthropist whose interests span music, education, and the environment. He holds a BA in mathematics with honors from Princeton University.

JUDITH WATSON ’94

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Chief Executive Officer, Westchester Community Health Center
Honorary Degree Recipient and Speaker at Graduate ceremony for the College of Health Professions, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, and School of Education

Judith M. Watson ’94 is the chief executive officer of Westchester Community Health Center, a nine-site healthcare system serving underserved populations across Westchester County. An immigrant from Jamaica raised in White Plains, she enlisted in the US Army after high school, serving three years on active duty and seven in the Reserves, reaching the rank of sergeant E-5.

Watson earned her BS in nursing from Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵÍøÕ¾ and her Master of Public Health from New York Medical College. Beginning her healthcare career in 1994 at the Greenburgh Health Center, she has spent more than 31 years in the field, rising through leadership roles from site executive director to COO before assuming her current role as CEO.

Deeply rooted in the community, she serves on 14 nonprofit and community boards, including the board of Westchester Medical Center, and was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from Mercy University for her contributions to public health.

Check out the Commencement website for more information on key deadlines, program details, and more.