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MISSOULA — Oscar winner and University of Montana alum J.K. Simmons will give the 2016 commencement address in Missoula.

On graduation day, May 14, UM will honor both Simmons and former U.S. Forest Service Chief Jack Ward Thomas with honorary doctorates, according to a news release from University Relations.

"It's our honor to reward two such remarkable individuals," UM President Royce Engstrom said in a statement. "Both have risen to rarefied heights in their respective careers, and both have contributed a great deal to the University of Montana."

The last three years, UM has brought a high-profile Democrat to give its commencement address. Ambassador and former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus spoke last year; Gov. Steve Bullock gave the address in 2014; and Jim Messina, architect of President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, spoke in 2013.

"If you look at the past decade of our commencement speakers, you will see an array of people who have achieved great success in life and in their careers," Peggy Kuhr, vice president of integrated communications at UM, wrote in an email.