Names and faces

Television host Conan O'Brien at Sanders Theatre on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.
Television host Conan O'Brien at Sanders Theatre on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016.

Actress Jennifer Lawrence is donating $2 million to a Kentucky hospital where she visited sick youngsters during a recent holiday trip home. The Oscar winner, a Louisville native, announced by video Friday that she’s giving the money to establish the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Kosair Children’s Hospital in her hometown, The Courier-Journal reported. Lawrence says she and her family have met wonderful children at the hospital and that their “strength and courage is inspiring.” She is urging others to match her gift. Hospital executives unveiled a rendering of the new cardiac ICU with Lawrence’s name affixed to the building. Lawrence’s mother, Karen Lawrence, says her daughter has visited Kosair patients during the past three holidays.

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Jennifer Lawrence attends the 88th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton hotel on Monday, Feb. 8, 2016, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Conan O’Brien spoke to an audience of Harvard University students Friday about the value of a liberal-arts education and about his time at the Ivy League school. Harvard President Drew Faust hosted the discussion with O’Brien, who graduated from Harvard in 1985 with a concentration in history and literature. O’Brien sharpened his comedy chops while working for The Harvard Lampoon, the school’s storied humor magazine. Among his college pranks, O’Brien says he stole the outfit worn by Robin in the 1960s TV show Batman when it was displayed on campus. But he also fondly recalled classes on city planning and U.S. history. “College is when you should actually get about as lost as you can get, in terms of expanding what you know,” he told the audience. He’s still an avid reader of history books, he said, with an interest in figures like Winston Churchill and Andrew Jackson. O’Brien encouraged students to try new pursuits without worrying about mistakes. But he warned students that, even after gaining success, insecurities don’t go away. “It’s an illusion that people in my situation have figured something out. It is a constant struggle,” he said.

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