The actress, who turns 39 on January 31, was paraded around the university in an open-topped Bentley by members of the theatrical society, dressed in drag, reported Entertainment Tonight.
The honour wasn't all fun and games for the African-American actress, who took a moment during the festivities to talk about the hot button diversity issue in Hollywood following the recent 'white-out' at the Oscar nominations announcement.
"What's great about what is happening this year with the Oscars is it's giving us an opportunity to talk about these things in a way that's a little bit more honest than I think we've talked about them in the past," she said.