New London — Vice President Mike Pence will be the keynote speaker at the Coast Guard Academy's graduation on May 23, the academy announced Friday afternoon.

"It's a great honor for us to host the Vice President and to have him present commissions to the members of the graduating class," Superintendent Rear Adm. James E. Rendón said in a prepared statement. "This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight our Academy and recognize our newest leaders for the service they will render to our Coast Guard and the nation."

This will be Pence's first visit to the academy as vice president.

The president and vice president address the graduating classes at the five federal service academies on a rotating basis. Last year, President Donald Trump addressed Coast Guard Academy cadets, indicating his support for building more Coast Guard icebreakers and telling cadets not to let "the critics and naysayers get in the way of your dreams." Pence addressed Naval Academy cadets last year.

The graduation ceremony, which takes place on the academy's Cadet Memorial Field except in cases of bad weather, is not open to the public.