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Rihanna Named Harvard's Humanitarian of the Year

She will be presented with the award on Tuesday, Feb. 28

Rihanna may be known for her music, but now she’s being celebrated for a different kind of achievement — her humanitarian work.

Harvard announced Wednesday that the singer was named the 2017 Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year.

"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," said Harvard Foundation director S. Allen Counter.

Rihanna also created the Clara and Lionel Foundation Scholarship Program for students from the Caribbean who attend college in the U.S, and is a supporter of the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project. The project aims to provide children with access to education in more than 60 developing countries.

She'll be presented with the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at the Sanders Theatre. 

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