The Robin Toner Program for Political Reporting will hold a lecture Monday night at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse. The first Robin Toner Prize for Political Reporting will be awarded to political reporter Craig Harris.

In the introductory year of the award, The Arizona Republic’s Harris has been named the recipient of the Toner Prize for his eight-part series on a corrupt public pension plan in the state, according to the Robin Toner program website. According to the website, his work caused a series of reforms and changes in the Arizona pension system. Harris is also the recipient of a $5,000 prize for his work.

Marilyn Serafini, a reporter for the National Journal and the first Robin Toner Distinguished Fellow for the Kaiser Family Foundation, will deliver the inaugural Robin Toner lecture to attendees.

The Robin Toner Program for Political Reporting was created in honor of Robin Toner, a 1976 graduate of Syracuse University and the first woman to serve as the New York Times’ national political correspondent, according to the Robin Toner program website. Toner passed away in December of 2008, and family and friends developed the Robin Toner Endowed Fund to remember her, according to the website.

— Compiled by Katie McInerney, editor in chief, knmciner@syr.edu