U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., will be the guest speaker at Elizabeth City State University's 144th spring commencement, ECSU officials announced this week.

The ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Roebuck Stadium. Approximately 242 students are expected to graduate. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be held in the R.L. Vaughan Center.

"It's always exciting to have a U.S. representative, especially one who has accomplished so much," said Kesha Williams, an ECSU spokeswoman.

According to an ECSU press release, Cummings has been a member of Congress since 1996. He also oversees the U.S. Coast Guard's $8 billion fiscal 2007 budget, which includes more than $1.1 billion set aside for the Coast Guard's fleet modernization program, also known as Deepwater.

"Cummings has made it a priority to ensure that the Coast Guard can balance its critical homeland security missions with its other crucial missions, including interdicting drugs before they reach America's shores and conducting search and rescue missions," the press release said.

Cummings serves on several House committees, including the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Committee on Armed Services. Cummings also is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and a member and a former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Before joining Congress, Cummings served in the Maryland House of Delegates for 16 years and was the first black to be named Speaker Pro Tem. He also practiced law for 19 years and contributes columns to The Afro-American, a Baltimore, Md.-area newspaper.