Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University in New Jersey after some faculty and students protested over her role in the Iraq War.

Rice issued a statement on Saturday informing Rutgers President Robert Barchi that she was declining the invitation.

"Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families," Rice said. "Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time."

The school's board of governors had voted to pay the former secretary of state under President George W. Bush and national security adviser $35,000 for her appearance at the May 18 ceremony.

But some students and faculty had protested, staging sit-ins and saying Rice bore some responsibility for the Iraq War as a member of the Bush administration. Barchi and other school leaders had resisted the calls to disinvite Rice, saying the university welcomes open discourse on controversial topics.

In her statement, Rice defended her record, saying that she was honored to serve her country and that she had "defended America's belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas." But she said she didn’t want to detract from the spirit of the commencement ceremony.

"As a Professor for thirty years at Stanford University and as it's former Provost and Chief academic officer, I understand and embrace the purpose of the commencement ceremony and I am simply unwilling to detract from it in any way,” Rice said.

Barchi delivered his own statement on Saturday hours after Rice announced her decision.

"While Rutgers University stands fully behind the invitation to Dr. Rice to be our commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree, we respect the decision she made and clearly articulated in her statement this morning," Barchi said. "Now is the time to focus on our commencement, a day to celebrate the accomplishments and promising futures of our graduates.”

Al Jazeera and wire services