Oscar-winner Kathy Bates: "I loved being at SMU"

Academy Award-winner (and 2002 SMU Commencement speaker) Kathy Bates spoke of her love for her alma mater during an appearance on Anderson Cooper's syndicated talk show, "Anderson," March 22, 2012.

The "Harry's Law" star told Cooper how fortunate she was to be at SMU during a time when gifts from the Meadows family were making a major impact on the University's arts programs.

"We started out with a regular little theatre program and then came out with a proper conservatory by the time I left," she said. "It was such a great time to be there and to learn and to be trained – and to be taken seriously, to want to be an actor.

"It was a great school to attend, and they gave me a great start."

Bates received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Meadows School of the Arts in 1969. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts by SMU in 2002.

Next up for Bates: She will play the ghost of Charlie Harper, the character made famous by Charlie Sheen, on the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men."