Eva Longoria named Harvard University's Artist of the Year

LOS ANGELES: Eva Longoria has been presented presented with the prestigious Artist of the Year 2015 by the Harvard University.

The former 'Desperate Housewives' beauty, an avid political campaigner and philanthropist, will follow in the footsteps of previous honourees Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Halle Berry and Sharon Stone with the recognition.

"Thank u (sic) Harvard Foundation @harvFoun for the incredible honour! #ArtistOfTheYear See you soon!," Longoria, 39, posted on Twitter.

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

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