
Celebrating Our Graduates
Class of 2025 Fall Commencement
Ceremony
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Ultima & John Morgan Courtroom
106 Martin Levin Advocacy Center
309 Village Drive, Gainesville
Doors open to guests at 3:30 p.m.
Ceremony begins at 4:00 p.m.
Reception to follow
The ceremony will be livestreamed here.
Commencement Keynote Speaker: Nathan S. Collier (JD 82)

Nathan S. Collier is the Owner and Executive Chair of The Collier Companies (TCC), where he oversees a portfolio controlling $2.5 billion in assets. A visionary real estate entrepreneur, Collier built his organization from the purchase of a single-family home more than 50 years ago into one of the largest privately held owners of multifamily housing in Florida. Today, he personally owns over 13,000 apartment homes and is actively developing seven 300+/- unit apartment communities throughout Florida and the Southeast region, supported by a team of approximately 400 dedicated professionals.
Guided by a lifelong passion for learning, Collier founded TCC with the intent to create a different kind of workplace—one with a true sense of community, a place that is a joy to live and work, and a place where team members truly care about each other as individuals and demonstrate that every day, in part by the depth of their commitment to quality, excellence, and customer service.
Collier’s belief in continuous education is woven into the culture of TCC. He co-teaches Collier College, a 10-week internal program that provides team members with an in-depth look at real estate investing, as well as essential life and professional skills including emotional intelligence, decision-making, goal setting, communication, and time and energy management. His commitment to education extends well beyond the company.
Nathan endows the Nathan S. Collier Master of Science in Real Estate Program at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business, where he continues to teach case studies, annually. He serves as an adjunct faculty member at the UF Levin College of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor. Collier has delivered commencement addresses for the Warrington College of Business in 2010 and 2018 and will be giving UF Levin College of Law’s commencement address for the fall of 2025.
In addition to his contributions to real estate education, Collier is a passionate advocate for journalistic integrity and accountability. In 2019, he founded The Collier Prize for State Government Accountability through UF’s College of Journalism and Communications. In 2024, he established The Peter F. Collier Award for Ethics in Journalism, administered by NYU’s Carter Journalism Institute Ethics and Journalism Initiative, honoring both student and professional journalists who demonstrate unwavering ethical commitment under pressure. Collier also serves on the Columbia Journalism Review Board of Overseers.
A prolific writer, Nathan maintains NSCBlog, where he has published over a thousand posts on personal and professional growth. Each entry carries his longtime guiding mantra: “I share what I most want and need to learn.”
Class of 2026 Spring Commencement
Ceremony
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Stephen C. O’Connell Center
250 Gale Lemerand Dr, Gainesville
Ceremony begins at 5:00 p.m.
Graduates report for robing at 3:30 p.m.
Doors open to guests at 4:00 p.m.
AC Marriott
151 NW 14th Street, Gainesville
$209 per night
Must book before 4/14/26
AC Marriott Booking Link
Aloft Hotel
3743 Hull Road, Gainesville
$169 per night
Must book before 4/15/26
Aloft Booking Link
Hampton Inn and Suites Downtown
101 SE 1st Avenue, Gainesville
$199 per night ($159 for 5/13/26 only)
Must book before 4/14/26
Hampton Inn and Suites Booking Link
Hilton Garden Inn
4075 SW 33rd Place, Gainesville
$169/$209 per night
Must book before 4/15/26
Hilton Garden Inn Booking Link
Hilton UF Conference Center
1714 SW 34th Street, Gainesville
$169 per night
Must book before 4/15/26
Hilton Booking Link
Holiday Inn
1250 West University Avenue, Gainesville
$139 per night
Must book before 4/23/26
Holiday Inn Booking Link
Homewood Suites
3333 SW 42nd Street, Gainesville
$169/$209 per night
Must book before 4/15/26
Homewood Suites Booking Link
Hotel Eleo
1514 SW 14th Street, Gainesville
$199 per night
Must book before 4/14/26
Hotel Eleo Booking Link
Hotel Indigo
5020 SW 30th Lane, Gainesville
$254 per night
Must book before 4/14/26
Indigo Booking Link
Residence Inn
3275 SW 40th Blvd, Gainesville
$175 per night
Must book before 4/14/26
Residence Inn Booking Link
Previous Ceremonies
- Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony Archive
- Spring 2024 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Spring 2022 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Spring 2021 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Fall 2019 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Spring 2019 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Spring 2019 Past, Present & Future Awards Ceremony Recording
- Fall 2018 Commencement Ceremony Recording
- Spring 2018 Commencement Ceremony Recording
