"We are delighted that President Obama has chosen to address our graduates at this year's historic commencement," Rutgers University President Robert Barchi said.
This will be the first time in school history that a sitting president has agreed to speak at commencement.
We are excited to say @POTUS Barack Obama will come to #Rutgers to speak @RUCommencement to celebrate our 250th! https://t.co/pmbpXK5xEe
— Rutgers University (@RutgersU) April 14, 2016
"President Obama's decision is a testament to the enthusiastic efforts of Rutgers students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as members of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation, who sent numerous messages to the White House urging the president to join our 250th anniversary graduation ceremony," Barchi said.
President Obama will deliver his remarks during the Rutgers University-New Brunswick Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 15, at 12:30 p.m. at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway.
The graduates represent 22 academic units from Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and are scheduled to receive their academic degrees. More than 52,000 are expected to attend the ceremony, rain or shine.
.@POTUS will deliver his last commencement addresses as President to the classes of 2016 at @RutgersU, @HowardU, and @AF_Academy!
— Denis McDonough (@Denis44) April 14, 2016
Since granting its first degree in 1774, Rutgers has awarded more than 550,000 academic degrees.
Established in 1766, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is America's eighth oldest institution of higher learning. It enrolls more than 67,000 students each year.