EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, pediatrician, professor, public health advocate and author of the book “What the Eyes Don’t See,” will visit the campus of Eastern Michigan University on Thursday, Oct.3 from 5-8 p.m. for a reception, lecture and book-signing event. The event will be held in the EMU Student Center Ballroom located at 900 Oakwood St. in Ypsilanti.

The free and open-to-the-public event will begin with a reception at 5 p.m., followed by the lecture and Q&A at 6 p.m., and a book signing at 7 p.m. Limited copies of “What the Eyes Don’t See” will be available for free.

According to Hanna-Attisha’s website, “What the Eyes Don’t See” is a powerful first-hand account of the Flint water crisis, the signature environmental disaster of our time, and a riveting narrative of personal advocacy. It is the dramatic story of how Hanna-Attisha used science to prove Flint kids were exposed to lead, and how she courageously went public with her research and faced a brutal backlash. With persistence and single-minded sense of mission, she spoke truth to power.

The book explores the horrific reality of how misguided austerity policies and callous bureaucratic indifference placed an entire city at risk. A medical and scientific thriller, the book grapples with our country’s history of environmental injustice while telling the inspiring personal story of Hanna-Attisha—an immigrant, a doctor, and a scientist—whose family roots in social justice activism helped her turn the Flint crisis around.

An associate professor of pediatrics and human development at Michigan State University, Hanna-Attisha is also the founder and director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative, a model program to mitigate the impact of the Flint water crisis so that all Flint children grow up healthy and strong.

To learn more about the event, contact Christina Deacons at cdeacons@emich.edu or call (734) 487-2133.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 18,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.