Distinguished Sociologist and Author to Address Incoming Smith Students -- and Public -- at September 3 Reading

Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, a sociologist and professor of education at Harvard University, will read from her acclaimed 1999 book "Respect: An Exploration," at 8 p.m. Friday, September 3, in John M. Greene Hall at Smith College.

The reading, which is part of the college's orientation program for entering students, is free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible.

In "Respect," Lawrence-Lightfoot profiles six professionals -- among them a pediatrician, a photographer, a nurse-midwife and a law professor -- each known for the dignity and compassion they bring to the relationships forged in their work. Interweaving the history of her own African-American family, Lawrence-Lightfoot examines how the quality of respect is critical to human relationships and affects each of our lives.

A MacArthur Prize winner and the first African-American woman at Harvard to have an endowed professorship named in her honor, Lawrence-Lightfoot is the author or co-author of six other books. These include "Balm in Gilead: Journey of a Healer," for which the Washington Post credited Lawrence-Lightfoot with "combining the passion of a family member with the skepticism of a social scientist," and "I've Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation," described by the New York Times as "an invigorating and inspiring human document."

Students entering Smith this fall have been assigned "Respect" as a summer reading. Small-group discussions for students led by faculty and staff will takes place the day after Lawrence-Lightfoot's reading.

August 23, 1999