She's the only writer to have received the three "Big P's" of journalism--the Peabody, the Polk (twice) and the Pulitzer--and in two weeks health writer Laurie Garrett will come to Montclair State to deliver the Margaret and Herman Sokol Science Lecture.

The event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 7, beginning at 8 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. It is free to faculty, staff, students and alumni; general admission tickets are $10.

Garrett is the author of two best-selling books on public health: The Coming Plague, which addresses the emergence of global disease epidemics, and Betrayal of Trust, which chronicles the collapse of the global healthcare system. Both books are wake-up calls for the global community, and have attracted the attention of policy makers, public health advocates and those interested in preserving global health and well-being.

"I read The Coming Plague the year it came out, 1994, and it painted a truly frightening picture of what has become, in part, an unfortunate reality in some places on this planet," said Robert Prezant, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. "When the opportunity for the Margaret and Herman Sokol Science Lectures arose, so did my hope that we could have the author of that fascinating book as one of our speakers."

Garrett graduated with honors in biology from the University of California in Santa Cruz. She attended graduate school in the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology at UC Berkeley and did research at Stanford University. During her Ph.D. studies, Garrett started reporting on science news at a local radio station, KFPA, where one of her documentary series won the 1977 George Foster Peabody Award in Broadcasting, and other production efforts gained her the Armstrong and CPB Award.

In 1980, Garrett joined National Public Radio (NPR) as a science correspondent. During her NPR years she was honored by the National Press Club (Best Consumer Journalism, 1982), the San Francisco Media Alliance (Meritorious Achievement Award in Radio, 1983) and the World Hunger Alliance (First Prize, Radio, 1987).

In 1988 Garrett left NPR to join the science writing staff of Newsday, where she remains today. Her Newsday reporting has earned her several awards including the Newsday Publisher's Award (Best Beat Reporter, 1990), Award of Excellence from the National Association of Black Journalists ("AIDS in Africa," 1989) and the Bob Considine Award of the Overseas Press Club of America ("AIDS in India," 1995).

Over the years Garrett has contributed chapters to numerous books and has written for many publications including Foreign Affairs, Esquire, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and Current Issues in Public Health. She has appeared frequently on national television programs including ABC's "Nightline," "The Jim Lerher NewsHour, "The Charlie Rose Show," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Dateline," and CNN's "The International Hour" and "Talkback."

"Dr. Garrett represents the best in science writers, someone with deep knowledge of science, insightfulness, and a keen eye in how to bring it alive and to the public," Prezant said. "This lecture is going to be intriguing and will bring to the audience a critical awareness of the very real danger of emerging diseases."

A resident of Brooklyn Heights, Garrett has been honored with two doctorates in humane letters honoris causa, from Wesleyan Illinois University and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Through a generous gift from Margaret '38 and Herman Sokol '37, the Margaret and Herman Sokol Science Lectures have been established to allow members of the University and surrounding communities to gain a greater appreciation and expanded knowledge of important issues in science.

Each semester a speaker of national or international renown is invited to campus to meet with faculty and students, and conduct an evening public seminar.

"Along with Laurie Garrett and our past speakers, Oliver Sacks and Brian Greene, and our spring 2004 speaker, Director of the National Science Foundation Dr. Rita Colwell," Prezant said, "we are truly fortunate that Ms. Margaret Sokol has contributed the support to make these exciting events come alive on our campus."

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