*Rihanna’s philanthropic side has been recognized by Harvard University.
The Ivy League school announced the singer as its latest recipient of the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award, with the Grammy-winner to receive the honor at a ceremony on Tuesday.
The Barbados-born performer, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, is being recognized for her support of education and health care in the Caribbean and developing countries.
The singer 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,” according to S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation.
“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, a multiyear campaign that will provide children with access to education in over 60 developing countries, giving priority to girls and those affected by lack of access to education in the world today.”
She joins previous Harvard Foundation honorees James Earl Jones, female education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, tennis champion and activist Arthur Ashe and former U.N. Secretaries General Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan, Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Javier Perez de Cuellar.
Up next for Riri is the TV series “Bates Motel” and the upcoming film “Ocean’s Eight.”
