USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue To Be Southern University's Commencement Speaker
Baton Rouge, La. – United States Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, has been named Southern University’s Fall Commencement speaker.
Perdue has served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture since April 2017. In this position, his policies have been guided by principles which include increasing job-creation in the agriculture and agribusiness sectors, prioritizing customer service for American taxpayers and consumers, safeguarding the nation’s food supply, and ensuring the sustainability of the nation’s land resources.
Perdue credits growing up on a farm in rural Bonaire, Georgia for his strong work ethic. Prior to running for public office, he served in the United States Air Force and achieved the rank of Captain. He has worked as a veterinarian in North Carolina and served as a Georgia State Senator for 11 years where his senate colleagues elected him to the position of President Pro Tempore. Perdue served as a two-term Governor of Georgia and was credited with reforming the states’ budget and helping to create more than 200,000 new jobs.
He has served as a board member of the National Grain and Feed Association and as President of both the Georgia and Southeastern Feed and Grain Associations.
Perdue earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia. He has been married to his wife Mary Ruff Perdue for 44 years.
Southern University’s Fall Commencement Ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on December 13 at the F. G. Clark Activity Center on the University’s campus. Nearly 400 students, 30 students within the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, are expected to receive bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees during the ceremony.