Staff Reports
Melanie Griffin, the Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, will be the commencement speaker at Florida State University’s upcoming summer graduation ceremonies.
Griffin was appointed to her post by Gov. Ron DeSantis in December 2021. The Tampa lawyer is a triple graduate of FSU. After earning her bachelor’s degree in finance from the FSU College of Business, she went on to get a master’s degree in business administration and a juris doctor (JD-MBA).
Griffin is a lawyer for Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and senior advisor for business-to-business relationships with Shumaker Advisors Florida, as well as president of the executive board of the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers.
She founded the business Spread Your Sunshine, which offers speaking and professional training services as well as “inspirational” stationery and gifts.
Griffin won the 2017 FSU Inspire Award for FSU alumnae of distinction. Other accolades include being named an FSU Notable Nole and receiving the FSU College of Business Recent Alumni Achievement Award. She is a member of the College of Law’s Board of Visitors.
The university is expected to award over 3,000 degrees this summer, including 1,0743 undergraduate degrees, 1,034 master’s and specialist degrees and 163 doctoral degrees.
The commencements will be held at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Friday, July 29 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Griffin will speak at both ceremonies, with FSU President Richard McCullough presiding. The university said it expects about 1,800 graduates to attend.
The 2 p.m. commencement will hand out diplomas to graduates of the Dedman College of Hospitality, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, College of Nursing, College of Business, College of Music and College of Education among others.
The evening ceremony will honor graduates of the College of Medicine, College of Fine Arts, College of Communication and Information, College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, College of Social Work, College of Law and College of Arts and Sciences.
