Meat + Poultry - November 2016 - 8

C O M M E N TA R Y

Teaching intangibles
As I walked across the picturesque campus of Colorado
State Univ. in Fort Collins, in late September, it became
somewhat surreal that I was literally going to school with
Dr. Temple Grandin. This was an environment I had never
seen her in, and getting a glimpse of a typical day in her
academic life was something I'll not forget.
It could be easy to overlook the fact that for more than
25 years, Grandin has worked as a professor of animal
science at CSU, but she will be the first to insist it is one of
many roles that is near and dear to her heart. In between

the thousands of miles she travels each year as an animal
welfare expert and educating the public about autism, her
loyalty to fulfilling her role as Professor of Animal Science
is still a top priority.
Having recently turned 69 years old, Grandin told one
classroom-full of students, "I'll never stop teaching," she
said, "even if it means someday I'm rolling in here in a
wheelchair."
For years, I've seen her interacting and captivating the
attention of industry professionals in discussions about
livestock behavior, effective handling systems and animal
welfare issues. However, it is fascinating to see how her
passion and insight resonates with classrooms full of
students in their early 20s. Being able to communicate in
a manner that transcends generations is a gift, and as I

8

MEAT+ POULTRY | 11.16 | www.meatpoultry.com

J O E L C R E WS, E D I TO R | j c r e w s @ s o s l a n d.c o m

Ryan Alcantara

It could be easy to overlook the fact
that for more than 25 years, Grandin
has worked as a professor of animal
science at CSU.

looked at the eager faces of her students, they were among
the many recipients of this gift.
In between classes, my "back-to-school" experience
included a brisk walk to CSU's Lory Student Center, where
Grandin and I lunched with three of her current graduate
students: Miriam Martin, Helen Kline and Dana Wagner.
It was hard to not notice other students in the food court
area who acknowledged Grandin, whose many accolades
include recently being named a CSU "Best Teacher;"
induction to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 2016; and whose life was the subject of an awardwinning HBO biopic.
In her academic element, Grandin and her grad
students were engaged in discussions about their ongoing
research projects and in-class anecdotes almost non-stop.
Martin, Kline and Wagner all showed Grandin the utmost
respect and carefully listened to her every word. To them,
she is "Dr. Grandin." Later, they gushed, telling me how
honored and blessed they are to have the opportunity to
work with her.
I've heard Grandin talk about education, training and
career development for years. But it wasn't until I saw her
- with my own eyes - advise, engage and inspire students
that I realized her passion for truly leaving a legacy for
future generations. She's invested much of her adult
life laying the groundwork for continued improvement
in animal welfare in the meat industry, but even bigger,
she's providing sound career guidance for so many more
people, inside and outside the agricultural arena.
In leading the development and revisions of
internationally recognized guidelines for animal welfare in
the processing industry, Grandin says her role is to create
solutions. She makes an analogy about those solutions that
I think applies perfectly to her role in career development
and providing guidance for younger people.
"Heat softens steel; somebody else does the heating and
I do the bending. Now, let's bend it into pretty grill work."
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Meat + Poultry - November 2016

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