The University of Toledo
01/21/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/21/2025 18:15
Prominent Autism Advocate to Present Shapiro Lecture Jan. 31
Prominent Autism Advocate to Present Shapiro Lecture Jan. 31
Dr. Temple Grandin, a high-profile animal behaviorist and autism advocate, will be the featured speaker at the 2025 Edward Shapiro Distinguished Lecture Series hosted by the College of Arts and Letters at The University of Toledo.
The free, public lecture begins at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, in the UToledo College of Engineering's Nitschke Auditorium. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, and event parking is free in Area 20. American Sign Language interpretation and live captioning will be provided.
Dr. Temple Grandin, a high-profile academic, author and advocate in the fields of animal behavior and autism spectrum disorder, will be the featured speaker at the 2025 Edward Shapiro Distinguished Lecture Series.
Grandin is an academic, inventor, author and advocate in the fields of animal behavior, specifically the humane treatment of livestock, and autism spectrum disorder.
She demonstrated severe symptoms of autism as a child, when the condition was poorly understood. When she published her first book in 1986, "Emergence: Labeled Autistic," describing her experience with autism, she distinguished herself as one of the first and the highest profile adults to publicly share personal insights into the condition that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates affects 1 in 36 children in the United States.
Grandin has continued to speak and write on autism, publishing subsequent titles including "Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism" in 1995, "Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior" in 2005, "Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals" in 2009, and, most recently, "Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns and Abstractions" in 2022.
Grandin simultaneously cultivated an expertise in animal behavior, publishing academic research and designing and consulting on humane livestock handling equipment.
A professor of animal science at Colorado State University, she holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Franklin Pierce College, a master's degree in animal science from Arizona State University and a doctorate in animal science from the University of Illinois.
Grandin was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016 and the Women's Hall of Fame in 2017. HBO released a movie about her life in 2010, the same year that she was named one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World."
"Through her trail-blazing work in autism education and advocacy, Dr. Temple Grandin has helped the world better understand what we now know is universal to being human," said Dr. Kim Nielsen, a Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Disability Studies Program. "It's exciting to host such an influential figure in Toledo."
Grandin will be available to sign copies of her books following the Shapiro Lecture, with a limited number available for purchase onsite on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ahead of the lecture, UToledo's Disability Studies Program faculty will lead a discussion on Grandin's "Visual Thinking" at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, 325 N. Michigan St., on Monday, Jan. 27. The free, public discussion begins at 6:30 p.m. in Meeting Room 2.
The Edward Shapiro Distinguished Lecture Series is named in honor of the late Dr. Edward Shapiro, an alumnus and professor emeritus of economics who endowed funds to support an annual lecture series that brings world-renowned speakers to Toledo. Past Shapiro Lecture speakers have included the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, Tony Kushner, Rhiannon Giddens, Audra McDonald, Toni Morrison and Elie Wiesel.
For more information, go to the Edward Shapiro Distinguished Lecture Series website.