Actor and Chelsea native Jeff Daniels will deliver the address at the University of Michigan's winter commencement.

Daniels will receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the 2 p.m. ceremony Dec.

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20. Regents approved honorary degrees for Daniels and others at the monthly U-M Board of Regents meeting on the Flint campus earlier this month. Daniels lives in Chelsea and established the Purple Rose Theatre Company there in 1991. He is also a playwright and songwriter. He was raised in Chelsea and studied theater at Central Michigan University and Eastern Michigan University before acting in films.

Also due to receive degrees in December are:

• Journalist Helen Thomas, Detroit native, who will receive a doctor of humane letters. Thomas has worked in the White House press corps for 10 presidencies. • Activist Grace Lee Boggs, who will receive a doctor of humane letters from U-M. Boggs is a labor and civil rights activist from Detroit who has worked for six decades in political and social movements. • Edward Osborne Wilson, a biological theorist and entomologist, who will be awarded an honorary doctor of science degree. Wilson's study of ants gave rise to the modern study of biodiversity and contributed to the understanding of social systems and species diversity.

Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter