FSU to celebrate graduates during spring commencement ceremony.

Special to the Outlook

Four distinguished graduates of Florida State University and the former head coach the university’s women’s basketball team will be the featured speakers during FSU’s spring commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. 

President Richard McCullough will preside over five commencement ceremonies, in addition to a doctoral hooding ceremony for Ph.D. graduates from all disciplines. It is the first time the university will hold a separate ceremony for all doctoral graduates. About 6,600 students are expected to participate in the six events over the two-day celebration.  

Friday’s 2 p.m. ceremony will feature alumnus and FSU trustee Jim Henderson, chairman, CEO and founder of AssuredPartners, a national insurance brokerage firm. He will speak to the graduates of the College of Business.

Nan Hillis, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and finance from FSU, will address graduates of the College of Arts and Sciences during Friday’s 7 p.m. ceremony. Hillis enjoyed a successful career in banking and finance, most recently serving as executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Prime Meridian Bank until her retirement in 2020. 

Jimmy Patronis, who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science at FSU, will deliver the commencement address to the graduates of the colleges of Applied Studies, Medicine, Motion Picture Arts, Social Sciences and Public Policy, as well as the Dedman College of Hospitality and Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship during Saturday’s 9 a.m. ceremony. 

Patronis is Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, State Fire Marshal and member of the Florida Cabinet. Previously, he represented his hometown region in the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014. 

Dr. Joe Camps, a urologist at the Advanced Urology Institute, will deliver the commencement address to graduates of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and the colleges of Nursing, Health and Human Sciences, and Education during the Saturday’s 2 p.m. ceremony. Dr. Camps was the captain of the Florida State football team in 1976 and graduated with his bachelor’s degree in biology at FSU before earning his M.D. at the University of Florida.

 Former FSU women’s basketball head coach Sue Semrau will speak to the graduates of the colleges of Fine Arts, Communication and Information, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Social Work and Music during Saturday’s 7 p.m. ceremony.

During her 24 seasons as the head coach of the Florida State women’s basketball program, Semrau became the all-time winningest coach in FSU history, won the Associated Press, WBCA and ESPNW 2015 National Coach of the Year awards and led the Seminoles to 16 NCAA tournament appearances. She retired in 2022 as the longest-tenured head coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference.