February 6, 2008 Harvard rolls out red carpet for Paris Hilton Play video

(NECN) - Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts rolled out the red carpet for Paris Hilton Wednesday.

The socialite received a "Woman of the Year" award from Harvard's National Lampoon, the world's oldest, continually-published humor magazine.

The celebrity heiress pronounced "Harvard is hot!" as she picked up the award in front of the Lampoon castle.

The Lampoon award is a spoof of the annual honors given by Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine standing here, standing on the steps of the Harvard Lampoon. It's really exciting and I've had such a great time," said Hilton.

The socialite-actress-business woman, who arrived an hour late for the festivities, played with the crowd of about 100 people who greeted her, telling them her on-again-off-again friend Nicole Ritchie was with her. "Just kidding," she said.

The 26-year-old Hilton stars in the new movie "The Hottie and the Nottie," which opens on Friday.

NECN reporter Ally Donnelly has the details.