Cashup Davis Family Lecture Series

Temple Grandin is an internationally recognized academic, inventor, and author. A prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock, Grandin’s experience with autism influenced her work to create systems that help animals and people.

One of the most well-known scientists in the world, Grandin is a pioneering advocate for humane livestock handling and neurodiversity awareness. She has shared her personal experience to profoundly reshape the public perception of autism, and written more than fifteen books on autism, animal science and welfare, and the mind, as well as more than sixty scientific papers on animal behavior.

An animal sciences faculty member in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University, she acts as an animal behavior consultant to the livestock industry.  Grandin holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Franklin Pierce University; a master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University; and a doctorate in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

She has received numerous awards and recognition for her research, advocacy, and impact. Among other honors, she has been inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Women’s Hall of Fame, been pictured in the National Portrait Gallery, and received Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Double Helix Medal for service to human health. In 2010, Grandin was named in the Time 100 list of the one hundred most influential people in the world. She is the subject of the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning biographical film Temple Grandin.

An award-winning teacher, mentor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Davis has inspired students and educators at WSU, in his adopted state of Texas, and nationwide to pursue paths of excellence.

A Washington native who grew up in Deer Park, Davis earned bachelor’s degrees in agriculture science and education from WSU, where he took part in the university’s competitive livestock and meat judging teams. He went on to get his master’s and PhD in meat science from Texas A&M University. Davis was then hired at Texas Tech University as an assistant professor and coach of the meat judging team. As coach, he led the team to its first meat judging national championship in 1989, the first of the team’s sixteen national titles.

In 1984, Davis created CEV Multimedia, bringing subject matter experts into high schools, originally through VHS tapes, then DVDs, and later online. Davis’s success with CEV afforded him the opportunity to give back to the meat industry as well as education. He and his wife, Joyce, have founded fifteen endowments across six universities, all geared toward the advancement of agriculture.

Inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2023, Davis is a recipient of the Ruby C. McSwain Outstanding Philanthropist Award from the National Agricultural Alumni Development Association, the American Meat Science Association 2020 Industry & Organizational Leadership Award, the Texas Plains Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Outstanding Philanthropist Award, WSU’s Distinguished Service Award, and many other national and collegiate honors.