Rihanna named Harvard University's humanitarian of the year

— -- Rihanna is Harvard-bound -- not to study, but to pick up the university's prestigious Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award.

The Barbados-born singer will receive her award next Tuesday at the university.

"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," S. Allen Counter, the Harvard Foundation’s director, told the Harvard Gazette.

"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," he continued, "and supports the Global Partnership for Education and Global Citizen Project, a multi-year 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."

The Harvard Foundation recognizes prominent public-spirited leaders each year in honor of the late professor Peter J. Gomes.

Past honorees include actor James Earl Jones and the late tennis star and activist, Arthur Ashe.