E. P. Sanders, a 1962 alumnus of SMU's Perkins School of Theology, is an internationally respected New Testament scholar responsible for major contributions to studies of Jesus and the Apostle Paul and their relationships to the Judaism of their day. He is credited with prompting the re-evaluation of prejudicial views of Judaism that often characterized earlier biblical scholarship, resulting in improved Jewish-Christian relations.

Sanders is the author of 14 books and numerous monographs that have been translated into 11 languages. His monograph, Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), received a National Religious Book Award, and his Jesus and Judaism (1985) won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas Wesleyan University, a Bachelor of Divinity from SMU Perkins School of Theology, and a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary.

Sanders held an endowed chair in religion at Duke University until he retired in 2005. He also held faculty positions at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and at the University of Oxford. He is a fellow of the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Sanders has received honorary doctorates from the University of Oxford and the University of Helsinki.

For his contributions to biblical scholarship, the understanding of Jewish and Christian origins, and Jewish-Christian relations, Southern Methodist University is honored to confer the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.