Academy Award winning actor Denzel Washington will deliver the commencement address at Dillard University this weekend.

Washington will give the address to the 247 graduating students on May 9 at 8 a.m.

“We are excited to have Denzel Washington as our 2015 Commencement Speaker,” said Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Dillard. “He has been a supporter of our Theater Program, which happens to be the oldest Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Theater Program in the country (now in its 79th season), for the past ten years,” he added. “Several Denzel Washington Scholars are candidates in this year’s graduating class and they will be ecstatic about having him as our speaker.”

Washington won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of a corrupt officer in 2001’s ‘Training Day’ and was honored as Best Supporting Actor for his role in ‘Glory’ as a runaway slave fighting during the Civil War.

Washington has also received other nominations and had acclaimed roles in movies like ‘Malcolm X,’ ‘Hurricane,’ and ‘Flight.’