About the Series
100 years ago, a deadly strain of the flu devastated the world killing more people than World War I and World War II combined. The global impacts of this modern plague reached into every facet of our society. Join us in a series of events at TCNJ marking 100 years since this pandemic and exploring the science and interdisciplinary impacts of the 1918 influenza pandemic, the widespread effects of this disease, and ways we can protect against a similar outbreak today.
Students – Help TCNJ win the New Jersey College & University Influenza Vaccination Challenge!
Report YOUR flu shot HERE. Go Lions!
Series Goals
What will you learn? Participants will:
- Visualize the impact of the 1918 Flu on families in the tri-state area.
- Explore the vast interdisciplinary consequences of the 1918 pandemic.
- Observe the ways that our global connections can impact the ability of new pandemics to spread.
- Describe current efforts to detect, prevent, and control emerging diseases.
- Discover how a flu shot (and other vaccines!) protects you AND others.
- Identify what TCNJ does and what individuals can do to protect the community from the flu.
Keynote Lecture – “The Great Epidemic, 100 Years Later”
Gina Kolata, New York Times writer and best-selling author
In this talk, drawing from her book Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918, Gina Kolata will recount the fascinating story of the world’s deadliest disease. The Great Influenza Pandemic killed an estimated 50 million people, and infected 500 million around the globe—making it one of the deadliest disasters in our history. But what’s most amazing about that epidemic is how scientists solved the mystery of what the virus looked like: by finding fragments in corpses and tissues stored in a vast government warehouse. Drawing from her extensive research, and relating it back to current illnesses, Kolata tells the story of this discovery, and explains what it revealed about the 1918 flu—and what made it so destructive.
View Event Details
Lecture and Lunch Reception
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
12:00-12:30 pm – Lunch reception
12:30-1:30 pm – Lecture, Q&A, and Discussion
Education Building, Room 212
Meet the Author Q&A Event with Gina Kolata – Open to students
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
2:00 pm
Brower Student Center, Room 225W
About the Speaker:
Gina Kolata is one of the leading journalistic voices on health and medicine. Kolata’s acclaimed books and front-page stories in the New York Times—on stem cell research, new cancer treatments, exercise, cloning, and more—have influenced public policy and upended conventional wisdom. Kolata has appeared on PBS, traded jokes with Stephen Colbert, and lectured at Yale to boot.
Since joining the New York Times in 1987, she has penned well over 1,000 articles, and her work for the paper has made her a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice—for investigative reporting and for explanatory journalism. Before her latest book, Mercies in Disguise, she authored several acclaimed and bestselling books, including:
- Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting,
- Clone: The Road to Dolly, and the Path Ahead,
- Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for the Truth About Exercise and Health, and
- Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It.
She has received many awards and honors, including from the American Association of Health Care Journalists, the University of Maryland, which gave her a Distinguished Alumnus award, and from Bowdoin College, which awarded her an honorary doctoral degree. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Susan G. Komen Foundation’s media award for reporting on women’s issues and breast cancer. Kolata studied molecular biology at the graduate level at M.I.T. and has a master’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland.
Keynote Lecture Sponsors:
- School of the Arts and Communication
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science
- School of Science
Schedule of Events
Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2018
Keynote Lecture – “The Great Epidemic, 100 Years Later”
Location: Education 212
Time: 12:30-1:30 pm (lunch at 12:00)
Gina Kolata, science writer for the New York Times and author of the book “Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused it,” will present.
Students are invited to join Gina Kolata in a “Meet the Author” event at 2:00 pm. (Brower Student Center 225W; hosted by Tri-Beta, Biological Honor Society).
Tuesday, Sept. 25 – Monday, Oct. 22, 2018
Influenza Display
Location: Lobby of the R. Barbara Gitenstein Library
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018
Annual Campus Flu Shot Clinic
Location: Trenton Hall 123
Time: 12:00-2:00 pm
TCNJ students, faculty, and staff can receive a flu shot for $20. Students – Help TCNJ win the New Jersey College & University Influenza Vaccination Challenge! Report YOUR flu shot HERE. Go Lions!
Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018
Mask Decorating Table
Location: Outside of Trenton Hall
Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
TCNJ students, faculty, and staff can decorate a face mask that one might wear to protect against influenza infection.
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018
Film Screening – “Spanish Flu: The Forgotten Fallen”
Location: Library Auditorium
Time: 5:30-6:30 pm
During the first few months after the deadly First World War, a virulent, dreadful flu breaks out. This BBC docudrama tells the story of this pandemic from the perspective of Doctor Niven, the Chief Medical Officer of Manchester.
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018
Panel Discussion – “Flu: 1918 & Today”
Location: Library Auditorium
Time: 7:00-8:30 pm
This expert panel discussion will explore influenza in 1918 and today, including historical impact and modern methods of surveillance and prevention. Panelists include TCNJ faculty, staff, and students, as well as a representative from the NJ Department of Health, Infectious & Zoonotic Disease Program. The panel will include biology major Akash Patel ’21. Read about how his undergraduate research at one New Jersey cemetery puts the famed 1918 pandemic into a local context HERE.
Monday, Oct. 8, 2018
“Pizza and Pandemics”
Location: Business Building Lounge
Time: 7:00 pm
Pandemic board game night.
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018
Guest Lecture – “Using History as a Public Health Laboratory”
Location: Business Building Lounge
Time: 11:00 am-12:00 pm
Dr. John Parman, Paul R. Verkuil Term Distinguished Associate Professor of Economics at the College of William & Mary and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018
Mask Decorating Table
Location: Outside of Trenton Hall
Time: 12:00-2:00 pm
TCNJ students, faculty, and staff can decorate a face mask that one might wear to protect against influenza infection.
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018
Annual Campus Flu Shot Clinic
Location: Trenton Hall 123
Time: 12:00 – 2:00 pm
TCNJ students, faculty, and staff can receive a flu shot for $20. Students – Help TCNJ win the New Jersey College & University Influenza Vaccination Challenge! Report YOUR flu shot HERE. Go Lions!
Escape the Epidemic!
1918 Flu-themed Escape the Room pop-up tent
Read more about the Escape the Room pop-up tent HERE.
| Date | Location | Start Time | End Time |
| Tuesday, 9/25 | Education Building | 10:00 am | 12:00 pm |
| Wednesday, 9/26 | Trenton Hall | 2:00 pm | 3:30 pm |
| Wednesday, 10/3 | Library | 2:00 pm | 5:00 pm |
| Thursday, 10/4 | Science Complex | 2:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| Wednesday, 10/10 | Moved to Library | 2:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
| Thursday, 10/11 | Rain date – if needed | 2:00 pm | 6:00 pm |
Oral Histories
We recorded oral histories with three local experts about the scope and impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic. We invite you to listen to their personal stories. View the videos here.
Series Sponsors
- School of Arts and Communications
- School of Business
- School of Education
- School of Engineering
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science
- School of Science
- Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Engagement Mini-Grant Program
- Student Health Services
- Department of Biology
- Department of Public Health
- Office of Instructional Design
- Cultural and Intellectual Community Council
Series Planning Committee
Co-chairs
K.T. Elliott, Department of Biology
Brenda Seals, Department of Public Health
Founding Circle
Ryan Gladysiewicz, Office of Instructional Design
Rita King, Department of Biology and Tutoring Center
John Kuiphoff, Department of Interactive Multimedia
Faculty & Staff Members
Norma Brown, Department of Nursing
Marina de Souza, Department of Public Health
Maureen Gorman, Library
Livia Lazzaro, Department of Public Health
Connie Kartoz, Department of Nursing
Natasha Patterson, Department of Public Health
Brett Ratner, School of Arts & Communication
Rafia Siddiq, Department of Health and Wellness
Janice Vermeychuk, Student Health Services
Mei Zhao, Department of Public Health
Student Members
Ryan Chiu, Business major
Justin Cook, Communication Studies major
Sebastian Czerwinski, Public Health major
Eva Doughan, Public Health major
Elizabeth Ferrara, Public Health major
Allison Kroepfl, Communication Studies major
Emmalee Kugler, Biology major
Catherine Metcalfe, Biology major
David Morganthal, Public Health major
Akash Patel, Biology major
Kelly Saldarriaga, Public Health major
Namal Seneviratne, Biology major
Student Organizations
Public Health Communication Club
Tri-Beta (Biology Honor Society)
Special Thanks to
TCNJ Communications, Marketing & Brand Management for help with publicity and print materials.
IMM270: Digital Fabrication students for help building the escape room pop-up tent.
Many TCNJ student volunteers for helping with each event.