Like the nation's president, officials at Virginia Military Institute plan to stand by their man.

The blitz of criticism of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in recent weeks hasn't caused VMI officials to second-guess inviting the former Navy pilot to speak at graduation, according to school spokesman Stewart MacInnis.

"We're fully expecting him to be our commencement speaker," he said.

MacInnis declined to speculate on how officials would handle graduation if the secretary did resign, as critics of his handling of the Iraq war have demanded in the past week, except to say the school doesn't have a contingency plan if Rumsfeld becomes suddenly unavailable.

"There's no number two person out there," he said.

Nell Lancaster of Rockbridge County said she thinks the school would welcome Rumsfeld even if he's out of a job. She'll join other anti-war protesters on a Lexington bridge that day.

On Tuesday, President Bush strongly rejected speculation that Rumsfeld may be pushed to resign because of a recent torrent of criticism, including some highly publicized slams from retired generals.

Graduating cadets picked Rumsfeld to speak at the May 16 graduation.

"The secretary of defense is an obvious speaker for a military school," said MacInnis.

Of the 245 cadets expected to graduate, about 105, according to VMI, will be commissioned into the U.S. military prior to commencement.

Eight VMI graduates have died in the Iraq war.

Class President Michael Pasquale of South Salem, N.Y., declined to comment on any scenario that would prevent Rumsfeld from speaking at graduation.

Pasquale, a history major who will join the Army military police following graduation, wrote the letter of invitation to the 73-year-old defense secretary.

"Duty and service to the nation are examples of Secretary Rumsfeld's character, which we all should emulate," Pasquale said.

Cadets will each receive nine tickets to commencement.

The event is closed to the public because of space limitations inside Cameron Hall, where graduation has been held since 1982.

Protesters will gather down the street on the U.S. 11 bridge (East Lexington Bridge) over the Maury River.

Though Rockbridge Response, an anti-war group, organized the event, an e-mail about car pooling to the protest circulated among Roanoke Valley peace activists Tuesday morning and it's listed on the Web site of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice.

A permit will not be required to gather on the bridge, said Lexington city manager Jon Ellestad.

An announcement about the protest directs participants to bring signs addressed to Rumsfeld. "Please keep our presence focused on our feelings about the current administration, and not VMI," it reads.

"We're not in any way trying to disrupt the VMI event," said Lancaster, a member of Rockbridge Response.

Her father, Albert, was a professor at the school.

Lancaster said she hopes the protest will raise awareness about the importance of challenging assertions made by the Bush administration.

"They have forfeited -- and Donald Rumsfeld is a big part of why they have forfeited -- the right to be trusted by not being truthful."

MacInnis said school officials expected Rumsfeld's appearance would trigger some controversy.

"He's a very high-profile individual," he said. "It's not a surprise to us that some people would be very vocal."

Officials at VMI are used to playing host to high-profile individuals. Sitting presidents Millard Fillmore and Lyndon Johnson visited the campus, as did President Bush in 2002.

Past commencement speakers include VMI graduate and World War II Army Gen. George C. Marshall, the late Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, Texas Sen. Phil Graham, Arizona Sen. John McCain and retired Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, who headed the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2001 until 2005.

The Department of Defense will have a security team at the event and VMI will be working with local authorities.

"There is a higher level of attention that needs to be paid," said MacInnis.