SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A primetime television star is returning to Syracuse after nearly 25 years. Vanessa Williams of the hit ABC show Ugly Betty will receive her bachelor of fine arts degree this weekend at Syracuse University. The actress will also deliver the convocation address on Saturday to graduates of SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Williams was a musical theater major from 1981-1983 and earned her remaining degree credits through industry experience and substantial performances on stage and screen. She became the first black Miss America in 1983 but lost the crown in 1984 when Penthouse magazine published nude photographs of her that had been taken years earlier.