Temple Grandin to visit Spokane, Pullman to share insights into autism and agriculture
May 1-Inland Northwest residents will have a couple chances to hear from one of the nation's pre-eminent agricultural scientists and autism advocates.
Mary Temple Grandin, who revolutionized livestock keeping and opened hearts and minds to the experience of living with autism, will speak at both Whitworth University and Washington State University on Wednesday.
Since 1990, Grandin has served as a professor at Colorado State University's College of Agricultural Science, where she published the bulk of her research that has advanced the understanding of cattle behavior, humane livestock handling and slaughter animal welfare. A leading voice in autism advocacy, Grandin is the author of more than 30 books on animal welfare and autism.
In 2010, Grandin was named in the Time 100 list as one of the most influential people in the world, the same year the "Temple Grandin" HBO film starring Claire Danes was released. Most recently, Grandin shared her life story in the documentary "Temple Grandin: An Open Door," available on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
Grandin's appearance at Whitworth is through the Texas-based publisher and autism resource company Future Horizons, which hosts conferences, webinars and trainings across the U.S. Tickets are available through the organization's website, fhautism.com, for $69.95, which will rise to $79.95 the day of the event.
The Spokane speech will focus primarily on how to best interact with those on the autism spectrum, whether you're a teacher, parent or caregiver. The doctor of animal sciences will also touch on lessons learned from livestock that can inform one's approach to assisting autistic people.
Doors open at 8 a.m., followed 45 minutes later by a screening of the documentary of Grandin's life. Her speech will begin at 10:45 a.m. and will feature a question-and-answer portion. Grandin will be available after the speech to sign copies of her books.
Those more interested in Grandin's agricultural bona fides may want to catch her appearance in Pullman. Grandin is the inaugural speaker of the Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series, which university organizers hope to develop into a long-running marquee event for the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, said Dean Raj Khosla.
Grandin's speech, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds," will begin at 6 p.m. in the Senior Ballroom at the Pullman campus' Compton Union Building. The event, also featuring a question-and-answer portion and book signing by Grandin, is free and open to the public. Those interested in attending can RSVP through the ag college's website, cahnrs.wsu.edu.
Khosla said Grandin was a natural fit to kick off the biannual talks. Khosla took the dean role last September after spending decades in agricultural research at Colorado State and Kansas State universities. Khosla was able to watch Grandin receive her well-deserved recognition, years after her discoveries while the two were colleagues in Fort Collins, Colorado.
"Sometimes recognition comes later than their contributions," Khosla said. "Her career took off at a hockey-stick rate, with the Time top 100, the HBO biography, just one thing after another."
"And she is deserving of every bit of that," Khosla added.
WSU students and Palouse residents can familiarize themselves with Grandin by attending a showing of the 2010 biopic of her life, "Temple Grandin," at 7 p.m. Monday in the CUB Auditorium.
Khosla said he's looking forward to visiting with and listening to Grandin, as are many students and faculty members he's heard from since the event was announced. The college is working to secure additional space to accommodate the masses who've expressed interest in attending.
"But isn't that a great challenge," Khosla said. "This is phenomenal that so many people are excited."
Part of the intention of the series is to inspire students by allowing them to mingle with prominent industry leaders, which could include World Food Prize recipients in talks to come, Khosla said. The World Food Prize is like the Nobel of the agricultural world: an international award recognizing the best and the brightest of those who've made advancements in quality, quantity or availability of food.
"It's very, very important for our students to be interacting with these leaders, because these leaders were no different than any one of us when they were undergraduate students," Khosla said.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.