Irish President Mary McAleese will deliver Fordham University’s 165th commencement address on May 22, and will receive an honorary doctorate of laws, the Bronx-based university has announced.

“We are deeply honored to have President McAleese deliver the 165th commencement address at Fordham,” said Rev. Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of the university. “In her leadership, integrity and scholarship, President McAleese is the model to which our graduates should aspire. We look forward to bringing her into the Fordham family.”

Born in Belfast, McAleese was a lawyer and law professor before becoming the second woman President of Ireland, a post she has held since 1997. In addition, she is the world’s first woman to succeed another woman as an elected head of state. Her birth in Belfast means she is the first President to have come from Northern Ireland, where she grew up through The Troubles.