U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to speak at Ave Maria University graduation

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will make her third official visit to Collier County to speak at Ave Maria University’s commencement ceremony May 5.

DeVos read to kindergartners at Lake Park Elementary in November after visiting Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School, a charter school in Fort Myers. In October she toured Everglades City School and Pinecrest Elementary in Immokalee to survey damage from Hurricane Irma.

Ave Maria president Jim Towey said he was thrilled she accepted his invitation to come back to Collier.

“It was a long shot, but I think we convinced her people that this would be a wonderful venue for her,” he said.

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In his invitation, Towey said he emphasized that the university’s values are in line with the DeVos administration.

Towey pointed to Ave Maria’s community service initiatives that have provided ongoing support to the Immokalee community as well as to the low level of student debt among graduates. DeVos has talked about making college more affordable.

Towey also mentioned the university’s commitment to issues of religious liberty.

Ave Maria’s founder Tom Monaghan, a Michigan native like DeVos, founded the university in 2003 with a vision to build a surrounding town based on Catholic beliefs.

In his invitation, Towey said he also mentioned his support for DeVos’ decision to dismantle President Obama’s guidance on Title IX, which had lowered the burden of proof required to adjudicate cases of campus sexual assault. DeVos’ actions increased protections for the accused.

“We made the case that we’re everything the secretary has been touting,” Towey said.

Towey said the university’s ties to the White House are also to thank for the secretary’s visit. Towey served as director of the White House’s Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George W. Bush, and other Ave Maria faculty members know the secretary personally.

While Towey was president of Saint Vincent College, a Catholic university in Pennsylvania, Bush accepted his invitation to give the university’s 2007 commencement address.

Past Ave Maria commencement speakers include Gov. Rick Scott and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Towey said Ave Maria would be working closely with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office and DeVos’ security detail to ensure her safety. DeVos has often encountered vocal protesters during campus visits.

Towey said he does not anticipate any protests from the Ave Maria community.

“The seniors are pumped,” he said. “We’re going to roll out the red carpet for her.”

Promoting school choice has been at the top of DeVos' agenda, which matches up with many Ave Maria graduates' desire to go on to teach at Mason Classical Academy, a Naples charter school established by conservative Michigan-based Hillsdale College.

DeVos, who has made more trips to Florida than any other state since her confirmation in January 2017, has touted Florida’s school choice and voucher initiatives as a model for the rest of the country. 

Ave Maria senior Andrew Nussbaum said he cherished his experience at the Catholic liberal arts college and supported the education secretary’s stance on school choice, noting he wished more students had the opportunity to pursue a faith-based education in primary and secondary school.

“She’s putting the power in student’s hands to pursue whatever education they want,” he said. “I’m so overjoyed and excited that she’s speaking at our commencement.”

Roughly 250 undergraduate graduate students are expected to receive degrees at the May 5 ceremony. The commencement will take place at 10 a.m. in the Tom Golisano Field House. 

The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment about DeVos' visit.