Papers of Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin is a professor of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. She joined the faculty in 1990 and continues to serve on the faculty as well as operating as a consultant at Grandin Livestock Handling Systems, Inc. She is a prominent and widely cited proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter, and a world-renowned autism spokesperson.

Mary Temple Grandin was born August 29, 1947, to Anna Eustacia Cutler (nee Purves) and Richard McCurdy Grandin in Boston, Massachusetts. She was diagnosed with autism at an early age, and her mother defied the prevailing opinion that institutionalization was the only option, working tirelessly to ensure that her daughter receive the best treatment and education. Following a private school education, Grandin earned her bachelor's degree in human psychology from Franklin Pierce College in 1970, a master's degree in animal science from Arizona State University in 1975, and a doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1989.

Grandin's experience with autism has provided an awareness that intense fear, born of a hypersensitivity to sound and touch, is also present in animals. Throughout her career, she has been leading the effort for better treatment of livestock. Grandin has conducted research into the welfare and handling of cattle, working closely with ranchers, feedlots and packers to identify and prevent problems in animal care. Her insights into animal behavior have shaped innovative approaches to livestock handling, including methods and designs for humane slaughter that have become the industry standard. Today half the cattle in the United States are handled in facilities she has designed.

Grandin's publications are numerous and address both autism and animal welfare and handling. She is the author of Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach; Thinking in Pictures, and Other Reports of My Life with Autism; The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum; and many journal articles related to livestock handling, livestock welfare, genetics, as well as articles on autism in children.

Temple Grandin has been the recipient of many honors. In 2010 she was named in Time Magazine's 2010 "100 Most Influential People in the World, Heroes Category", and in 2012 Grandin was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. She also received the Meritorious Achievement Award from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Grandin was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016 and the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2017. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2021, the Temple Grandin Equine Center opened on Colorado State University's campus and is one of the leading equine-assisted services facilities in the world.

Grandin's life has also been the subject of a biopic, Temple Grandin, starring actress Claire Danes. The movie received 15 Emmy Award nominations and won five, including the Emmy for outstanding made for television movie and best actress in a drama (Danes).