On April 23, Piedmont University announced the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Honorable Douglas A. Collins as the keynote speaker at the 2025 Spring Graduation ceremonies.
Collins served as the representative of Georgia’s 9th congressional district from 2013 to 2021, serving eight years in Congress. In 2020, Collins lost to both Kelly Loeffler and Raphael Warnock when running for U.S. Senate. After this loss, Collins became a legal counsel for former President Donald Trump in his post-presidency.
Prior to his political campaigns, Collins earned a degree in political science and criminal justice from the University of North Georgia, and a master’s in divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
In February 2025, President Trump nominated Collins as the twelfth secretary of veterans affairs. In an interview about his accomplishments in his first 30 days on Feb. 21, Collins emphasized key changes in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and efforts to combat waste, fraud and abuse.
Collins voted against the Equality Act in 2019, co-sponsored the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act and received an A+ rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an anti-abortion group.
Secretary Collins has dedicated much of his career to public service and currently oversees care and benefit services for more than nine million veterans nationwide.
“We are deeply honored to welcome Secretary Collins,” said President Marshall M. Criser III in a press release emailed to Piedmont faculty on April 21. “His commitment to service and leadership is an example we hope will inspire our graduates as they move forward into their own careers.”
The email was only sent to faculty, as students, including graduating seniors, were made aware of the news via social media.
Piedmont University is home to students of many backgrounds and beliefs, some of whom are frustrated with Piedmont’s decision to ask a political figure to represent the university on such an important day for many graduates with diverse beliefs.
“Mr. Collins is a man of faith who has served his country well as a member of our armed forces. However, those two things will take a backseat to the fact that he now serves as a member of President Trump’s cabinet. The first few months of the President’s second term have been extremely chaotic and divisive,” said Dale Van Cantfort, a current professor emeritus of mass communications who formerly served as chair of the mass communications department for 10 years. “Having someone who was hand-picked by Trump to serve as a member of that administration to be our commencement speaker brings that divisiveness to our campus.”
Although universities across America are facing the fear of a loss of funding if considered to be not following the President’s DEI orders via the Board of Education, many other schools refrain from selecting political figures as their commencement speaker.
“I was absolutely shocked and disappointed,” said Lyric Rogers, a junior at Piedmont who started the hashtag, #PiedmontDoBetter on social media when hearing that Collins was speaking at graduation. “I don’t want Piedmont to promote such a corrupt government.”
The hashtag has yet to gain traction on Facebook, and very few students have resorted to making comments on YikYak. Many reactions have been via Facebook reaction or Instagram story reposts.
Graduation ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on May 9 at the Johnny Mize Athletic Center, where families of graduates will travel far and wide to see their child walk across the stage, completing their undergraduate degree.
“Commencement should be a special time for our graduates to come together with family and friends to celebrate their collective accomplishments,” said Van Cantfort. “Having Mr. Collins as the commencement speaker threatens to turn a well deserved celebration into a potential political protest.”
To keep up to date with spring commencement information, visit piedmontroar.com
