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Rihanna named Harvard's Humanitarian of the Year

By Wade Sheridan
Rihanna arrives for the 59th annual Grammy Awards on February 12. Rihanna has been named Harvard University's Humanitarian of the Year for building a breast cancer facility in Barbados and for starting a scholarship program. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 2 | Rihanna arrives for the 59th annual Grammy Awards on February 12. Rihanna has been named Harvard University's Humanitarian of the Year for building a breast cancer facility in Barbados and for starting a scholarship program. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Rihanna has been named the 2017 Harvard University Humanitarian of the Year and will be honored at the school during a special ceremony Tuesday.

"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 Allen Counter said in a statement.

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"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," he continued.

Past celebrity honorees include actor James Earl Jones and tennis player Arthur Ashe.

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