Program
2024-25 Edward Shapiro Distinguished Lecture Series
An Evening with Dr. Temple Grandin
Inventor, Author, Autism Advocate
#UToledoShapiroTempleGrandin
Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, at 7 p.m.
Nitschke Hall, Auditorium
UToledo Main Campus
Support the Shapiro Lecture Series
Program
Welcome
Melissa Valiska Gregory, Ph.D., Dean, College of Arts and Letters
Introduction
Kim Nielsen, Ph.D., Ability Center of Greater Toledo Endowed Chair of Disability Studies at The University of Toledo
Presentation
“Great Minds Are Not All the Same”
Temple Grandin, Ph.D., Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University
Concluding Remarks
Dean Gregory
Book Signing
Dr. Grandin has graciously agreed to sign her books after the lecture. There will be a limited quantity for sale on a first-come, first-served basis. She will also sign your copy of one of her books.
Thank You, Home Depot!
Home Depot graciously donated 25 free noise-canceling earmuffs for autistic audience members who may need them.
About
Dr. Temple Grandin
Dr. Temple Grandin is a professor of animal science at Colorado State University. When she was two and a half years old, she had no speech and all the symptoms of severe autism. Early intensive speech therapy enabled her to speak by age four. Her mother always encouraged her interest in art and urged her to draw many different things. Good teachers and mentors were essential for Temple’s success. Her high school science teacher challenged her with interesting projects where she had to figure out how to make things work. When studying in school became a pathway to becoming a scientist, she was motivated to study.
An HBO movie titled Temple Grandin was made about her life and Temple was inducted into The National Women’s Hall of Fame and The Academy of Arts and Sciences. Facilities she has designed handle over half the cattle in the U.S. Some of her most important books are New York Times Bestseller “Animals in Translation,” “Thinking in Pictures,” “The Autistic Brain,” and “The Way I See It.” Riding horses and caring for them helped her get through difficult teenage years when she was bullied and teased.
About the Shapiro Lecture Series
The lecture is named in memory of Dr. Edward Shapiro, a UToledo alumnus and professor in the Department of Economics for 22 years. A strong believer in the many ways that public universities make a powerful impact on the communities they serve, Dr. Shapiro’s gift to the University supports an annual lecture series intended to bring the local Toledo community to campus.
See further below for past Edward Shapiro Distinguished Lecture speakers, including Rhiannon Giddens, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Audra McDonald, Andrew Young and many others.
Please consider making a gift today to help us continue this important lecture series!
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Support the Shapiro Lecture Series
The Shapiro Lecture Committee
Many thanks to the Shapiro Lecture Committee for their hard work in selecting this year’s outstanding speaker.
- Jon Richardson, J.D., Chair
- Melissa Valiska Gregory, Ph.D.
- Marlon Kiser
- Mary Morrison
- Zak Vassar
- Baldemar Velásquez
- Traci Watkins, M.D.
- Donna Woodson, M.D.