PHILADELPHIA -- Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University, will speak at the University of Pennsylvania Baccalaureate ceremonies May 16, in Irvine Auditorium, 3401 Spruce St., Philadelphia.

Ceremonies will be held at 1:30 and 3 p.m. to accommodate all who wish to attend.  No tickets will be required for admission.

Hailed as the premier historical theologian of the time, Pelikan has spent five decades and 40 volumes -- examining Christian tradition. His five-volume work on church doctrine has earned him a place among the world's top church scholars, and his most recent book is considered the definitive exploration of Christian tenets.

He served as the first senior distinguished visiting scholar at the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress and is a visiting scholar with Penn's Annenberg School for Communication.

Pelikan, who holds honorary degrees from more than 40 institutions, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Penn's commencement May 17.

 "The Penn Baccalaureate ceremony is an opportunity to reflect on the moral and civic responsibilities of those who are privileged to study and learn at an Ivy League school with an international profile," Penn Chaplain William Gipson said.  "Dr. Pelikan's distinguished scholarship and academic career make him an ideal choice."