BOWLING GREEN, O. -- The director of the Center for Risk Communication in New York City will discuss crisis communication strategies for public health emergencies, including bioterrorist acts, April 4 at Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Vincent Covello's presentation, "Communicating Under Fire: Focus on Public Health Situations," is the fourth annual Ned E. Baker Lecture in Public Health, beginning at 1 p.m. in 101 Olscamp Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception for Covello will follow his speech.

In his address, Covello will outline effective risk and crisis communication strategies and offer examples that public health agencies can use to prepare for potential emergencies such as anthrax, smallpox, plague and West Nile virus. Results of recent Centers for Disease Control research projects on smallpox and bioterrorism will be part of the presentation, which will be applicable to all controversial public health situations.

Covello, who has a Ph.D. from Columbia University, is an internationally recognized communication trainer, researcher and consultant, with several hundred government agencies and Fortune 500 companies among his clients. His most recent assignments have included work related to radioactive waste disposal, hazardous waste sites and mad cow disease, as well as bioterrorism and West Nile virus.

Over the last 25 years, Covello has held positions both in academia and government. He is a former faculty member in Columbia's School of Public Health and former director of risk assessment programs for the National Science Foundation.

He is past president of the Society for Risk Analysis, a professional association with more than 3,000 members, and serves on the editorial boards of several journals. He is the author or editor of more than 25 books and 75 articles on risk assessment, management and communication.

Covello's lecture is sponsored by the BGSU College of Health and Human Services, the Wood County Hospital Foundation, the Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health, the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center, Cove Charitable Trust of Boston and the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH).

NALBOH is headquartered in Bowling Green and was founded by Ned E. Baker, a BGSU graduate who served on the Wood County Board of Health for 12 years, including two terms as president. The lecture named in his honor is simulcast via satellite to local health boards nationwide.

For more information on the April 4 lecture, contact Linda Crawford in the BGSU College of Health and Human Services at lcrawfo@bgnet.bgsu.edu.

(Posted March 14, 2003)