R&B singer, Rihanna, has been named by Harvard University as the Humanitarian of the Year (2017) for her charity work.
The 29-year-old singer from Barbados will be given the award in person on campus on February 28, the university announced.
“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,” Harvard Foundation director S. Allen Counter said.
She has also set up a scholarship program, named after her grandparents, for Caribbean students studying in the United States, and supports efforts to give girls better access to education in the developing world.
“It is for these philanthropic initiatives and other acts of compassionate sharing that the students and faculty of the Harvard Foundation chose to honor Rihanna with the 2017 Humanitarian of the Year Award,” Counter said.
The singer joins an illustrious roster of past recipients that includes former UN secretary general Ban ki-Moon, Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, and singer Lionel Richie.