AUSTIN (November 19, 2009)--Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden is returning to the campus of the University of Texas at Austin where the acting bug led her to earn a degree.

Harden, described by UT as the school's first graduate to receive an Oscar, will be the commencement speaker on May 22, 2010.

Harden says she's "thrilled and honored to speak to these bright young minds, ready to go out and improve our world."

Harden, 50, won a best supporting-actress Academy Award for 2000's "Pollock."

The actress was nominated for a supporting-actress Oscar for 2003's "Mystic River."

Broadway honored Harden in June with a Tony Award for best performance by a leading actress in a play for "God of Carnage."

Harden has a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from UT.

Her master of fine arts degree is from New York University.