Grandin is a speaker who inspires and motivates others through her story as an autistic child who learned how to communicate. She recounts “groping her way from the far side of darkness” in her book Emergence: Labeled Autistic, a book that stunned the world because until its publication, most professionals and parents assumed that an autism diagnosis was virtually a death sentence to achievement or productivity in life.

Even though she was considered “weird” in her young school years, she eventually found a mentor who recognized her interests and abilities. Grandin later developed her talents into a successful career as a livestock-handling equipment designer, one of very few in the world. She has now designed the facilities in which half the cattle are handled in the United States, consulting for firms such as Burger King, McDonald’s, Swift, and others.

Grandin currently works as a professor of animal science at Colorado State University and speaks around the world on both autism and cattle handling. At Lake Forest, she will be speaking about the importance of using a practical approach to the question of the treatment of animals large and small. 

Grandin joins a long list of Oppenheimer lecturers who have given talks on campus over the last several years, including theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist Thomas Friedman, economist and presidential advisor John Kenneth Galbraith, Lincoln historian Eric Foner, and many others.

The annual talk is sponsored by the Oppenheimer Family Foundation lecture series and will take place at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, at 700 N. Sheridan Road, Lake Forest. The talk will be followed by a Q and A and book signing. Register online today!

Related Links:

• Oppenheimer Lecture: Temple Grandin