The VVMA is proud to announce that our Keynote Speaker for the 2012 Virginia Veterinary Conference will be Temple Grandin, Ph.D.  
 
A resident of Colorado, Dr. Grandin is a past member of the board of directors of the Autism Society of America and lectures to parents and teachers throughout the U.S. on her experiences with autism.  Articles and interviews have appeared in the New York Times, People, Time, National Public Radio, 20/20, The View, and the BBC.  She was also honored in Time Magazines 2010 "The 100 Most Influential People in the World.”
 
Dr. Temple Grandin obtained her B.A. at Franklin Pierce College in 1970. In 1974 she was  employed as Livestock Editor for the Arizona Farmer Ranchman and also worked for Corral Industries on equipment design. In 1975, she earned her M.S. in Animal Science at Arizona State University for her work on the behavior of cattle in different squeeze chutes. Dr. Grandin was awarded her Ph.D in Animal Science from the University of Illinois in 1989 and is currently a Professor at Colorado State University.
 
She has done extensive work on the design of handling facilities. Half the cattle in the U.S. and Canada are handled in equipment she has designed for meat plants.
 
Other professional activities include developing animal welfare guidelines for the meat industry and consulting with McDonalds, Wendy’s International, Burger King, and other companies on animal welfare.
 
Following her Ph.D. research on the effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of pigs, she has published several hundred industry publications, book chapters and technical papers on animal handling plus 45 refereed journal articles in addition to seven books.  She currently is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University where she continues her research while teaching courses on livestock handling and facility design.  Her book, Animals in Translation was a New York Times best seller and her book Livestock Handling an Transport, now has a third edition which was published in 2007. Other popular books authored by Dr. Grandin are Thinking in Pictures, Emergence Labeled Autistic, Animals Make us Human, Improving Animal Welfare: A Practical Approach, and The Way I See It.
 
Dr. Grandin will kick off the 2012 VVC at 8 am on Friday, February 24th, with her address on "Understanding Animal Behavior.”  She will also speak to the food anima and public practice attendees on "Improving Animal Welfare: A Practice Approach.”