April 9, 1996 Contact: Robert Irion (408) 459-2495; irion@ua.ucsc.edu

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER IS A GRADUATE OF UC SANTA CRUZ

Science journalist Laurie Garrett will deliver a free public lecture at UCSC on Friday, April 12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--An alumna of the University of California, Santa Cruz, has received the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, Columbia University announced today.

Science and medical reporter Laurie Garrett won for a series of articles last year in Newsday, a daily newspaper in Long Island, New York, about the May 1995 outbreak of the deadly ebola virus in Zaire. The award carries a cash prize of $3,000.

Garrett, who graduated from Merrill College in 1975 with a B.A. in biology, is the first UCSC graduate to win a Pulitzer Prize. She spent eight years as a science correspondent at National Public Radio and has worked at Newsday since 1988. In February, she received the Alumni Achievement Award from UCSC's Alumni Association in recognition of her career accomplishments.

Garrett is in the midst of a two-week visit to UCSC as a Regents' Lecturer, a position reserved for distinguished guest instructors. She flew to New York early this week to accept the Pulitzer Prize, but will return to UCSC to deliver a previously scheduled public lecture on her acclaimed 1994 book, The Coming Plague: Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. The talk begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, in Classroom Unit 2 on the UCSC campus. Admission is free.

Next week, Garrett will continue a series of activities sponsored by five units at UCSC: the Biology Department, the AIDS/HIV Prevention Program, the Science Communication Program, the Writing Program, and Merrill College. In addition, the UCSC Alumni Association has rescheduled a public luncheon with Garrett at India Joze from Tuesday, April 9, to Tuesday, April 16, at noon. Guests must reserve tickets in advance by calling (408) 459-2530 before 3 p.m. Friday, April 12.

Editor's notes: Two UCSC faculty members are available for comment on Garrett:

John Isbister, professor of economics and provost of Merrill College: (408) 459-2246 John Wilkes, senior lecturer and director of the Science Communication Program: (408) 459-4764

To arrange an interview or to obtain a review copy of Garrett's book, call Robert Irion at (408) 459-2495.

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