Buena Vista University (BVU) alum and current Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig, will be the featured speaker at the 2018 BVU commencement exercises on Saturday, May 26. “We are thrilled that Mr. Naig will be our commencement speaker,” says BVU President, Dr. Joshua Merchant. “The experiences and insights he can share from his career will surely resonate with our graduates and prepare them as they step forward into the next chapter of their lives.” Naig, who grew up on his family’s farm near Cylinder in northern Iowa, graduated from BVU in 2000 with a degree in biology and political science. To this day, he continues to be involved in that family farming operation, but has also worked in the agribusiness industry for more than 13 years as a leader with state and public policy associations. He was appointed to serve as Iowa’s Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in 2013, and was appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds to the lead role about a month ago after former Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey, joined the United States Department of Agriculture. He is committed to protection of consumer rights, to expanding Iowa’s economic opportunities and in advocating for the state around the world.