ELLISVILLE – Jones College officials have changed the location of the 98th Annual Commencement Ceremony from outdoors on the North Lawn of Jones Hall to the M.P. Bush Fine Arts Auditorium. As a result, the 665 graduates participating in commencement on Friday, May 8, have been divided into three groups for three ceremonies beginning at 3 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The last ceremony will include the Alumni Choir, Hall of Fame, Tullos Scholars and Middle College graduates.
Check the website https://www.jcjc.edu/graduation/ for all details related to graduation including the link to watch the ceremonies live. It is important to note that graduates are issued four tickets for general admission. Doors will open at 2:15 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. and no one will be allowed to enter early. Graduates will receive either an associate in arts degree, associate in applied science degree, associate of science, associate of science and technology, a technical certificate, or a career certificate. Following the ceremony, families and guests will meet their graduates in the C.L. Neill Student Center and Banquet Hall for photos. For questions specifically regarding the 2026 graduation ceremony, please contact Kacie Birdsong at 601-477-4137.
This ceremony will also mark the fourth class of the Middle College Program at Laurel High School with 19 students earning both their high school diploma and an associate degree from Jones College. These students, Amber Burks, Gracelyn Carmichael, Davon Chambers, Eddie Cole, Henry DeJesus, Liliana Garcia, Autumn McGill, Karina Julio, Maitin Lainez, Laila McMillan, Jamari Morrow, Arberney Pollard, Vanessa Reyes, Sydney Ridgeway, Malia Sanders, Dexyia Sullican, Javon Terrell, Alex Virgen, and Richard Ward, finished their high school requirements simultaneously while attending college courses to complete a two-year degree.
The keynote speaker for graduation will be U.S. Army Retired Major General and Chief Executive Officer of MINACT Inc., in Jackson. Major General Augustus L. Collins, U.S. Army Retired, is the Chief Executive Officer of MINACT Inc., which is a leading workforce training, development and management corporation headquartered in Jackson. Prior to being appointed to his current position, he served for more than 35 years in the United States Army and the Army National Guard, including tours as the Director of Mobilization Forces, U.S. Army Forces Command, the Commander of the 155th Separate Armored Brigade during Operation Iraqi Freedom and his final position as the Adjutant General for the Mississippi National Guard. From 2019 until 2025, he served as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for the State of Mississippi.
Collins initially retired from the Army in 2007 and was appointed as Commissioner, Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission. However, in January 2012 Governor Bryant requested that he be recalled from military retirement and was appointed as the Adjutant General for the Mississippi National Guard. He served in that position until his retirement in August 2016.
Collins currently serves on the Board of Directors for Huntington Ingalls Industries, Trustmark National Bank, Mississippi Power Company and the Armed Forces Benefits Association. He is a Past President of the University of Mississippi Alumni Association and currently serves as the Chairman of the University of Mississippi Foundation. He is a Charter member of the board of directors of Friends of Mississippi Veterans. He previously served on the board of directors of the National Guard Association of the United States and the New Hope Christian School. He is a former member of the Governor’s Commission on Physical Fitness and Sports.
The retired general earned his Associate of Arts Degree from Northeast Mississippi Junior College. He continued his education at the University of Mississippi where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi, his Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Jackson State University and his Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. Collins has also completed studies at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School.
A few of his many military awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Mississippi Magnolia Cross, the Order of Saint George Medallion for excellence in Armor, the Combat Action Badge and the Army Staff Badge.