April 15, 2003
GARRETT CANCELS THURSDAY LECTURE TO COVER SARS IN
CHINA
Laurie Garrett has canceled her Thursday evening lecture
at Boise State University in order to leave for China to cover the SARS epidemic
for Newsday, Boise State University officials announced today.
“We were informed of Ms. Garrett’s cancellation this
morning,” said Helen Lojek, a Boise State English professor and chair of the
Distinguished Lecture Series Committee. “Our goal is to book speakers who are
on the cutting edge of their profession. That leaves open the possibility that
breaking events might interfere.”
Garrett, an expert on emerging infectious diseases and
global health care, has written extensively about the likelihood of disease
outbreaks such as SARS in numerous articles and in two highly regarded books, The
Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance and Betrayal
of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health.
“We appreciate the great support the Treasure Valley
community has given the Distinguished Lecture Series, and we apologize for any
inconvenience this cancellation has caused,” Lojek added. “While we are very
disappointed, we also understand that Ms. Garrett has professional obligations
to her newspaper to cover a story that uses expertise she has a built over an
entire career.”
The Distinguished Lecture Series will resume on Oct. 9
when Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Hours,
will speak.
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Contact
Helen Lojek
Distinguished Lecture Series
426-1328
Media contact
Janelle Brown
communications and marketing
426-1790
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