Hundreds of graduates were honored at the 40th annual commencement May 10 in the Wildcat Field House, with more than 2,000 family and friends in attendance. More than 650 students who became eligible for graduation from August 2013 through the end of the current academic year were invited to take part in the annual ceremony. Keynote speaker Dean Kamen, President of DEKA Research and Development Corporation, urged graduates to find a big problem and strive to solve it.

 “If you put back more than you take out, the world gets a little better every day,” Kamen said. “You make a living doing what you do. You make your life by what you give back. Have a great life.”

As an inventor, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for innovative medical devices that have expanded the frontiers of health care worldwide. While still a college undergraduate, he invented the first wearable infusion pump, which rapidly gained acceptance from such diverse medical specialties as chemotherapy, neonatology, and endocrinology. Kamen is a recipient of the National Medal of Technology and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Among his proudest accomplishments is the founding of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use and enjoy science and technology.

 While hundreds of family members and friends of graduates were on hand for the ceremony, the event was also webcast live for those unable to attend. The ceremony was followed by a reception in the Student Center.

SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, is New York’s public polytechnic, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in technology and professional studies. Its academic offerings in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies, and its programs in professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing, are complemented by athletics, recreational, cultural and campus life programs, events and activities. Founded in 1966, SUNYIT is a unique high-tech learning environment on hundreds of acres, offering degree programs online as well as on campus. The SUNYIT family of alumni now numbers 25,000.