Renowned animal behaviorist and autism advocate Temple Grandin has been selected to receive a 2025 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed upon alumni by the University of Illinois Alumni Association. Grandin earned a doctoral degree in animal sciences from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1989.

This prestigious honor recognizes alumni who have attained outstanding success and national or international distinction in their chosen profession or life’s work. Grandin will be formally recognized during Homecoming Week at the 2025 Alumni Awards Gala on Sept. 25 at the Pear Tree Estate in Champaign, Illinois. 

A professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, Grandin is a trailblazer in the fields of livestock behavior and welfare. Her work has transformed the meat industry through more humane animal handling systems, most notably the widely adopted center track restrainer system used in beef plants worldwide. 

Diagnosed with autism as a child, Grandin has used her personal experiences to reshape public perceptions of neurodiversity. Her bestselling books — including Thinking in Pictures and The Autistic Brain — along with a critically acclaimed HBO biopic, have made her a globally recognized voice in both animal science and autism advocacy.

“Dr. Grandin’s extraordinary contributions to science and society exemplify the mission of our college to cultivate socially responsible leaders who improve lives and the world,” said Germán Bollero, dean of the College of ACES. 

Grandin is also one of USA Today’s 2025 Women of the Year, a member of the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and was listed among TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2010. 

To learn more about Dr. Grandin’s journey and her time at Illinois, read her 2019 alumni interview with the University of Illinois Alumni Association.

For more information about the 2025 University of Illinois Alumni Awards, contact the University of Illinois Alumni Association at illinoisalumni@uillinois.edu or (800) 355-3586.