It’s no Grammy, but Rihanna is winning an Ivy League honor that none of her peers can brag about.
Harvard University has named the popular Caribbean-born singer its 2017 Humanitarian of the Year for her charitable works.
In addition to selling 200 million albums worldwide, which is quite an achievement, the Barbados-born and raised Rihanna is quite the philanthropist.
Harvard Foundation director S. Allen Counter said the internationally acclaimed musician deserves recognition for her good works.
“Rihanna has charitably built a state-of-the-art center for oncology and nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat breast cancer at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown, Barbados,” Counter said.
“She has also created the Clara and Lionel Foundation Scholarship Program (named for her grandmother and grandfather) for students attending college in the U.S. from Caribbean countries, and supports the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project,” he said.
Rihanna, who celebrated her 29th birthday this week, will attend the award presentation ceremony next week on campus.
Other Harvard Humanitarian Award winners include actor James Earle Jones, United Nations Secretaries General Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, gender rights advocate Malala Yousafzai and tennis player and activist Arthur Ashe.
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