Eva Longoria Chosen as Harvard University’s 2015 Artist of the Year

Eva Longoria is heading back to school as Harvard University’s 2015 Artist of the Year.

The former Desperate Housewives beauty, an avid political campaigner and philanthropist, will follow in the footsteps of previous honorees Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Halle Berry and Sharon Stone when she is presented with the prestigious accolade from officials at the Harvard Foundation on Saturday, during the Massachusetts school’s Cultural Rhythms Festival.

S. Allen Counter, director of the Harvard Foundation, says, “Our student committee praised her outstanding contributions to the performing arts and her much-admired humanitarian work through the Eva’s Heroes project, a charity founded by Longoria that helps developmentally disabled children, as well as her support of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

Responding to the news on Twitter, Longoria writes, “Thank u (sic) Harvard Foundation @harvFoun for the incredible honor! #ArtistOfTheYear See you soon!”

Thank u Harvard Foundation @harvFoun for the incredible honor! #ArtistOfTheYear See you soon! http://t.co/bSUWENB5mN

— Eva Longoria (@EvaLongoria) February 15, 2015

The actress previously enrolled in a Chicano Studies course at California State University, Northridge, where she obtained her master’s degree in 2013.

Photo Credit:Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com