President George W. Bush will deliver the address at SMU's Commencement ceremony in May.
More than 2,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees are expected to be awarded in Moody Coliseum.
"This Commencement is especially noteworthy because 2015 is the 100-year anniversary of SMU's opening," said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. So it is fitting that we should hear from a president who led our nation and the world during historic times and is a valued member of the campus community."
Bush has a long-time connection to the university through his marriage to Laura, an SMU alumna and a current member of the SMU Board of Trustees. And since his decision in 2007 to locate his Presidential Center on the campus, Bush has become an active member of the university community.
This isn't Bush's first time giving a commencement speech at SMU. His first commencement speech at the university was in 1999, when he was governor of Texas.
The ceremony will take place May 16.