CSU President’s Community Lecture Series presents Temple Grandin April 13

CSU President’s Community Lecture Series presents Temple Grandin April 13

FORT COLLINS –  Once again, renowned CSU Professor of Animal Sciences and autism advocate Temple Grandin is taking to social media to engage with people interested in her work – and on the same day that she will deliver the next President’s Community Lecture Series talk.

On the heels of a wildly-successful Reddit “Ask Me Anything” in November 2014, Grandin will host her first Google+ Hangout – #AskTemple: A Live Google Hangout with CSU’s Dr. Temple Grandin– on April 13 from 9-10 a.m.

At 6:30 p.m. that evening, Grandin will discuss “Helping Different Kinds of Minds Solve Problems” for the President’s Lecture Series in the Lory Student Center Grand Ballroom. Her lecture will be followed by a Q&A session with CSU President Tony Frank from 7-7:30 p.m.

Since April is National Autism Awareness month, the University is honored to have such an outstanding spokesperson speak at two engagements.

Grandin’s Google+ Hangout will be facilitated through Google’s social media platform. The online discussions are presented by CSU and are open to anyone interested; Internet service is needed. Google+ Hangouts function much like a webinar, allowing participants to view and hear presentations from their personal computers and other devices. Users will be able to submit questions ahead of time to Grandin via CSU’s Facebook, Twitter or at http://source.colostate.edu/submit-a-question-for-temple-grandin/ and she will respond to them live during her session.

“Social media is relatively new to me,” said Grandin. “Being able to connect with new diverse groups of people on social media enables me to talk to lots of new people.”

Grandin’s Reddit session was enormously popular, and the site continues to see engagement and discussion, even after the November event. In fact, Grandin’s “Ask Me Anything” has proven to be the most popular and highest rated “Ask Me Anything” in Reddit’s “Science” section, receiving nearly 4200 votes and spawning over 1300 comments.

At the President’s Community Lecture Series, Grandin will discuss how people approach problem-solving differently, based on professional training, abilities, and personal experiences. Grandin will look to break down barriers that have developed over time between: traditional business and technological innovators; between artists and quantitative researchers; and between people who engage in jobs requiring physical labor and academics housed in universities and institutions of higher learning. For Grandin, these groups do not need to be in conflict, and a successful society is one in which differing skills are optimally utilized.

“Very few people on the planet have the combination of both professional success and a compelling life story with the broad, inspiring and transformative impact that Dr. Temple Grandin has achieved,” CSU President Frank said. “We’re pleased to host this Presidential Lecture as a special opportunity for the community to connect with this remarkable member of our faculty.”

A professor at Colorado State for over 20 years, Grandin has made enormous contributions to the livestock industry. Her insights into animal behavior shaped innovative approaches to livestock handling, including methods and designs for humane slaughter that have become the industry standard.

In addition to her animal science research, the world knows Grandin as the face of autism. Her accomplishments as a speaker, author and advocate earned her a place among TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2010. Her life story was detailed in the acclaimed HBO biopic, Temple Grandin. Grandin continues to speak and write about autism, most recently in her book Different…Not Less.

President’s Community Lecture Series

The President’s Community Lecture Series presents outstanding Colorado State faculty in talks that are free and open to the Fort Collins community. Previous lecturers have included University Distinguished Professors Dr. Stephen Withrow and Diana Wall, Dean of the College of Business Ajay Menon, and professors Lori Peek and Bryan Willson.

The lecture is free and open to the public and registration is required at https://advancing.colostate.edu/PRESLECTURESERIESAPRIL15.

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