Temple Grandin, professor of animal science, best-selling author and autism activist, visited Wright State University's Lake Campus as part of the kick-off to the 2015-16 Presidential Lecture Series on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Grandin, who teaches at Colorado State University, also spoke at the Wright State Nutter Center.
At the Lake Campus, an invitation-only, Master Class-style event provided Lake Campus agriculture students, staff, faculty, and advisory board members the opportunity to ask Dr. Grandin questions about her experiences. Greg McGlinch, Agriculture Program Coordinator, moderated the Lake Campus session, where Dr. Grandin also offered a brief book-signing session for her published works. Other topics included technology in agriculture, local and organic farming, humane treatment of livestock, career exposure in the field, and discussion regarding Dr. Grandin’s autism.
Grandin’s books about her life as an autistic person have increased the world's understanding of autism. She believes her disability and strategies and coping mechanisms that she had to develop for herself make her unique and helped her succeed.
In her popular 2010 TED Talk, Grandin explained that she is particularly attentive to detail and that she thinks in pictures rather than words, which gives her unique insight in her work with animals. Grandin also contended that people on the autism spectrum offer invaluable skills and perspectives.
She is the author of "The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's," "Thinking in Pictures, Emergence: Labeled Autistic," "Animals Make Us Human" and "Animals in Translation." She has also written more than 400 articles in both scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare and facility design.
Grandin teaches courses on livestock behavior and facility design at Colorado State and consults with the livestock industry on facility design, livestock handling and animal welfare. She has designed livestock handling facilities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
She obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College, M.S. in animal science at Arizona State University and Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Illinois.
In 2010, Grandin was named to Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She was also the subject of an award-winning 2010 biographical film, "Temple Grandin," on HBO.
For more information about opportunities in agriculture at Lake Campus, please contact Greg McGlinch at 419-586-0210.
