David Oshinsky, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, will speak about the great race to eradicate polio as an American scourge on July 8 at 7 p.m. in the Lyceum in Pennsylvania Hall, on the Gettysburg College campus.
 
In his prize-winning book Polio: An American Story, Oshinsky shows that polio was viewed, much like communism, as a threat to the heart of American society. Concerted efforts to battle polio began during the Roosevelt Administration and continued with increasing intensity in response to new polio outbreaks after World War II. During the Eisenhower presidency the University of Pittsburgh scientist Jonas Salk developed a viable vaccine and Dwight Eisenhower authorized its wide distribution. Oshinsky will speak at the 11th annual Eisenhower Academy: An Institute for Teachers co-sponsored by the Eisenhower National Historical Site, Gettysburg College and The Dwight D. Eisenhower Society. The lecture is free and open to the public. Copies of his book will be available for sale at the program.
 
For information on the program or the Eisenhower Academy, call (717) 338-9114, ext. 10