Coinciding with International Women’s Day, the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame will recognize ten women tonight for their accomplishments.
Colorado State University Professor and animal behavior expert Temple Grandin is among the inductees being honored tonight. The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Board of Directors Chair Ruby Mayeda says Grandin has made extraordinary contributions to a field once dominated by men.
“She had to overcome a lot of bias. And she literally had to sneak on to feedlots and other locations where females were banned to complete her research when she was going to school. And now today many of students are women so she is a recognize trailblazer in the industry for women,” Mayeda said.
Grandin has worked at C-S-U’s College of Agricultural Sciences for 22 years. But, Mayeda says Grandin has excelled outside of the livestock industry as well.
“Temple is unique; I mean she is just the quintessential inductee in that she has made contributions in two separate fields. She’s recognized internationally as an animal behaviorist and then separately because she has Autism she has also made a great impact in that community,” Mayeda said.
Grandin was included on Time Magazine's list "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2010.
The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame typically adds six to ten new members every other year. Other 2012 inductees include former Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, and founder of the nurse practitioner movement Loretta Ford.
The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame was established in the mid 1980’s. Mayeda says including tonight’s inductees, 131 women are now in the hall of fame.
