NPR Iraq correspondent Anne Garrels to be next University Lectures speaker, Nov. 10

NPR Iraq correspondent Anne Garrels to be next University Lectures speaker, Nov. 10October 25, 2005

Anne Garrels, a nationally recognized correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) has just returned from her most recent assignment covering the war in Iraq. She will share her impressions of that conflict, and her experiences as one of the few female war correspondents in broadcast media, on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. Garrels’ appearance, part of the University Lectures series, is free and open to the public; free parking for the lecture will be available in the Irving Avenue parking garage.

Garrels is a roving foreign correspondent for NPR’s foreign desk. She earned international recognition in 2003 by being one of 16 U.S. journalists to remain in Baghdad during the initial invasion of Iraq. Her reports can be heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday.

As U.S. and British forces advanced on Baghdad, Garrels remained at her post, describing the scene on the streets and reactions from those she encountered. Her experiences in Baghdad are chronicled in her book “Naked in Baghdad” (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 2003). For her work in Iraq, Garrels was awarded a 2003 Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation.

Since 9/11, Garrels has reported from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East. During her career with NPR, Garrels has reported on a wide range of international issues, with an emphasis on the former Soviet Union. She regularlyspends time in the independent states that once made up the Soviet Union, covering diverse stories-from social and economic challenges to military and cultural developments.

In 1990, Garrels reported from Saudi Arabia, filing stories on the events leading up to the first Gulf War. She was part of the NPR team that won a prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 1992 for coverage of the war. In 1996, she won the duPont-Columbia Award for her coverage of the former Soviet Union. In 1999, the Overseas Press Club honored Garrels with the Whitman Bassow Award for a series she did on water issues around the globe.

Before joining NPR in 1988, Garrels was the State Department correspondent for NBC News. Prior to that, she worked at ABC News in a variety of positions over the course of 10 years. She served three years as Moscow bureau chief and correspondent until she was expelled in 1982. She also covered the Eastern Bloc, particularly the rise of Solidarity in Poland and the crackdown of martial law. From 1984-85 Garrels was the network’s Central America correspondent. In 1996, Garrels spent a year as an Edward R. Murrow Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a member of the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In addition to her lecture presentation, Garrels will meet with 15 journalism students from a Syracuse high school and take part in a breakfast fundraiser for Girls Inc., of CNY, to be hosted by Newhouse Dean David Rubin and Instructor Tina Press. Garrels also will meet with students and professional staff at WAER for a question and answer session to be moderated by Joe Lee, WAER manager.

Because of the nature of her work in journalism, in particular her reporting from Bagdad in the early days of the war, Garrels’ work reflects the “Borders” theme of this year’s Syracuse Symposium, which also is promoting Garrels’ visit.

University Lectures is a cross-disciplinary lecture series that brings to the University individuals of exceptional accomplishment. The next University Lectures speaker will be William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International. His lecture, “Torture, Terror Tyranny: The State of Human Rights Today,” is scheduled for Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel. For more information,visit http://provost.syr.edu/lectures/current.asp.