Corps of Cadets and Graduate College ceremonies to be held May 3

The Citadel will hold a commencement ceremony for the South Carolina Corps of Cadets at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 3. Later that day, the ceremony for The Citadel Graduate College Class of 2025 will take place at 3:30 p.m. Both events will be held in McAlister Field House; more information can be found here.

An astronaut, and the 10th person to ever walk on the moon, Brig. Gen. Charles Duke Jr., USAF (Ret.), will serve as speaker for the morning ceremony. Allison Dean Love, a member of The Citadel Board of Visitors and alumna of The Citadel Graduate College, will speak during the afternoon ceremony. On Friday, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Edmond “Miles” Brown, deputy commanding general for combat development of United States Army Futures Command, will provide the address for The Citadel’s commissioning ceremony.

Learn more about the speakers below.

Brig. Gen. Charles Duke Jr., USAF (Ret.)

Born in North Carolina and raised in Lancaster, South Carolina, Brig. Gen. Charles Duke Jr. received a Bachelor of Science degree in Naval Sciences from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957. Upon graduation from the Naval Academy and receiving his commission in the USAF, Duke entered pilot training and received his wings in September 1958. After serving in Germany for three years, he was then assigned to MIT for a master’s degree. Duke is one of the 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966 and went on to serve in five different Apollo missions to the moon. 

He was a member of the astronaut support crew for Apollo 10. He served as CAPCOM for Apollo 11, the first manned landing on the Moon. He was back up lunar module pilot on Apollo 13, lunar module pilot on Apollo 16 and back up lunar module pilot on Apollo 17. 

Duke is the 10th and youngest person to walk on the surface of the Moon. He has logged an impressive 265 hours and 51 minutes in space. In December 1975, Duke retired from NASA to enter private business in San Antonio, Texas. He entered the USAF Reserves and served as Mobilization Augmentee to Commander AF Basic Military Training Center and to Commander USAF Recruiting Service. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1979 and retired in June 1986.

He is a successful businessman and author. As owner of Duke Enterprises and President of Charlie Duke Enterprises, he is a globally sought motivational speaker. He has been recognized with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, named South Carolina Man of the Year and has been inducted into the South Carolina Hall of Fame, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

He and his wife reside in Greenville, South Carolina. They have co-authored the book, “Moonwalker,” released by Oliver Nelson Publishers in March 1990 and produced two films – “Moonwalker” and “Walk on the Moon, Walk with the Son.” 

They have two sons, nine grandchildren and one great grandchild. 

Allison Dean Love, CGC ’93

Allison Dean Love, CGC ’93, is a highly experienced national-level consultant with more than 30 years of experience in public relations, media relations and communications. 

Owner of her own consulting firm, she works with major media outlets worldwide, as well as with national, state and local clients in insurance, higher education and various industries, providing expertise in crisis communications, risk management, loss prevention, strategic planning and board governance. Love also serves as a senior consultant for the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and worked with search firms in human resources, recruiting and business development, hiring thousands of employees across sectors, including financial services and healthcare organizations. 

Elected by the SC General Assembly, Love is the first and only graduate of The Citadel Graduate College to serve on The Citadel Board of Visitors, where she is the longest-serving voting member on the board. She has chaired the Communications and Community Relations Committee for many years. Love also serves on multiple additional committees and contributed to high-level searches for leadership positions. 

A lifetime member of The Citadel Alumni Association, Love has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumni by The Citadel MBA Association in 2004 and was recently inducted into The Citadel Business School Hall of Fame with the Lonnie Carter Distinguished Service award. 

Love has served as a speaker at a variety of insurance and higher education meetings and has delivered national and international speeches and training sessions for more than 30 years. Having previously served on the SC Commission on Higher Education in leadership positions on a variety of committees, Love currently serves on the boards of Titan Insurance Company, Inc., SC SAFE HOME (Chair), the SC Women in Leadership, the Lt. Col. James B. Near, USAF ’77, Center for Climate Studies Advisory Board, and the US Global Leadership Coalition SC Advisory Committee. She is an associate member of the SC Women’s Caucus and also served on the Lowcountry Graduate Center Board of Directors for many years, where she served as chair and vice chair.

Love holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in management from Middle Tennessee State University, a Master of Business Administration from The Citadel and an Associate in Personal Insurance from the Insurance Institute of America. Along with her husband, Phil, Love has initiated multiple scholarships to support Citadel cadets and graduate students, including two for The Citadel Graduate College and two for her native state of Tennessee. They are members of The Citadel Founders’ Society, The Citadel Society of 1842, The Star of the West Society, The Citadel Order of the Tartan and the Citadel Legacy Society. 

Lt. Gen. Edmond “Miles” Brown, U.S. Army, ’95

Lt. Gen. Miles Brown is the 3rd Deputy Commanding General (DCG), Army Futures Command (AFC). Previously, he served as the 4th Chief of Staff (COS), AFC, and as the 3rd Commanding General of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM). Brown is a native of Honea Path, South Carolina and was commissioned as a Field Artillery Officer from The Citadel.

He has served overseas in (2ID) Korea, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Afghanistan with stateside duty in (3ID) Fort Stewart (Georgia); (1st CAV) Fort Hood (Texas; known as Fort Cavazos since 2023); (1st ID) Fort Riley (Kansas); (4th ID) Fort Carson (Colorado); Fort Eustis (Virginia); Washington, D.C.; and Aberdeen Proving Ground (Maryland). His staff and joint assignments include Aide-de-Camp to the Commander, Multi-National Force-Iraq; COS 4th Infantry Division; DCG support, 1st Cavalry Division; and Deputy Director/COS, Futures and Concepts Center, U.S. AFC. Brown’s combat commands include an Artillery Battalion in Iraq (Diwaniyah), a Brigade combat Team in CENTCOM (Kuwait/Jordan) and the Train, Advise, Assist Command-South (TAAC-S, Kandahar) in Afghanistan. He has served eight tours in South Asia during Operations Desert Fox, Intrinsic Action, Desert Spring, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Spartan Shield, Eager Lion and Resolute Support. He is a graduate of the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course, the Armor Captains Career Course, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the National War College. His civilian education includes degrees in history, administration and national security strategy from Central Michigan University and National Defense University. His awards and decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Bronze Star Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Iraqi and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the Combat Action Badge and the Presidential Service Badge.

Brown is married with two children.