Lerone A. Martin, who is director of Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute and a prominent scholar in religious studies, will deliver the university’s 2026 Baccalaureate address.

Martin will speak at the celebration for graduates, family members, and other guests on Saturday morning, June 13, at Frost Amphitheater. The university’s 135th Commencement ceremonies will follow on Sunday, June 14.

In addition to comments from Martin and a graduating senior, the student-led celebration will include readings, prayers, and music that reflect the wide range of religious and spiritual traditions among the campus community.

The Office for Religious & Spiritual Life will conduct a contest to select a member of the Class of 2026 to address their classmates during the service. Details will be published on the office’s Baccalaureate web page.

“With Lerone Martin as our Baccalaureate speaker, we are inviting our graduates into a moment of deep reflection held alongside celebration,” said Tiffany Steinwert, the university’s dean for religious and spiritual life. “Dr. Martin helps us see the past is not behind us but alive within us, shaping the questions we ask and the futures we imagine. As our students stand between what has been and what is yet to come, his voice will challenge and inspire them to reflect not only on what Stanford has meant to them, but also, more importantly, life’s most pressing question: who they are and seek to become for the sake of the world.”

Martin, who holds the Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professorship, became the second director of the King Institute in 2022. A professor of religious studies and of African and African American studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences, he is also the incoming chair of the Religious Studies Department. His scholarly work explores the intersections of religion and politics in the 20th century, contributing significantly to the understanding of the American experience.

Martin joined Stanford from Washington University in Saint Louis, where he served as an associate professor of religion, a member of the faculty in the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics, and director of American Culture Studies. He earned his PhD in Religion in U.S. History from Emory University in 2011, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2005, and a BA in Religious Studies from Anderson University in 2002.

An award-winning author, he has written three books. His latest work, Young King: The Making of Martin Luther King, Jr., will be published by HarperCollins in May 2026. The book will also be adapted into a graphic novel.

“Being selected as Baccalaureate speaker is an extraordinary privilege,” Martin said. “I’m incredibly grateful to Stanford – to the faculty, staff, students, and community whose brilliant minds challenged me, displays of courage fueled me, and generous hearts inspired me. I’m deeply thankful for the opportunity to celebrate this meaningful moment together.”

Stanford’s Baccalaureate celebration will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, in Frost Amphitheater. On Sunday, June 14, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai will deliver the keynote address to graduates in Stanford Stadium. Additional details are available on the Commencement Weekend website.