Author of "Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment" and a cancer survivor herself, Steingraber will address society's growing concern about the environment's effects on heath by presenting recent data from the U.S. cancer registries and discussing cancer as a human rights issue. The event is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow the lecture.

Steingraber's expertise has been sought by government officials worldwide, most notably in 1999 when she assisted international treaty negotiations by briefing U.N. delegates in Geneva, Switzerland, on dioxin contamination of breast milk. She is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y., and a former faculty member at Cornell University.

The efforts of Steinbrager's work have not gone unnoticed. The Sierra Club has regarded her as "the new Rachel Carson,'' and The Jennifer Altman Foundation awarded her the first annual Altman for "the inspiring and poetic use of science to elucidate the causes of cancer."

During her visit to Ohio University, Steingraber will engage in small group discussions with students, faculty and alumni including College of Osteopathic Medicine students and participants in the OHIO Women Making a Difference conference, which is sponsored by Women in Philanthropy.

The Kennedy Lecture Series is made possible by a contribution from the late Edwin L. and Ruth Kennedy to the university's John C. Baker fund. Established in 1962, the series' brings nationally recognized individuals to the campus to lecture and participate in other campus activities. The lecturers are chosen by a committee chaired by a faculty member with representatives from the faculty, staff, community and student body.