Four To Receive Honorary Degrees From Guelph

February 21, 2012 – Renowned animal scientist, author and autism spokesperson Temple Grandin will receive an honorary degree during the University of Guelph’s winter convocation Feb. 22 and 23.

February 21, 2012 – Renowned
animal scientist, author and autism spokesperson Temple Grandin will
receive an honorary degree during the University of Guelph’s winter
convocation Feb. 22 and 23.
The University will also present honorary degrees to Vandana Shiva, a philosopher, physicist and environmental activist; Peter Senge, an international business strategist; and Richard Witter, a veterinarian and poultry disease researcher. All honorary degree recipients will address graduands during convocation ceremonies.
Grandin will receive an honorary doctorate of science at the ceremony for the Ontario Agricultural College and the Ontario Veterinary College. A professor of animal science at Colorado State University, Grandin introduced humane practices for handling livestock. She consults with the livestock industry on animal behaviour and welfare and the design of handling facilities. She is one of the world’s most accomplished and recognized people with autism. A best-selling author, she invented a device used to treat people with hypersensitivity and was the subject of the Emmy Award-winning film Temple Grandin.
Witter will receive an honorary doctorate of science. Director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory for 23 years, he discovered a way to control Marek’s disease, the most costly poultry affliction worldwide. He is one of only a few veterinary scientists elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Shiva will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. She leads the International Forum on Globalization along with Ralph Nader and Jeremy Rifkin. Trained as a physicist and philosopher, including graduate studies in the philosophy of science at Guelph, she has advocated changes in farming and food production. She has been featured in numerous documentaries, written several books and spoken at international gatherings, including the World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum.
Senge will receive an honorary doctorate of laws. A senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, Senge has been named a top management guru by the Financial Times and Business Week. His book The Fifth Discipline introduced the theory of learning organizations and was named one of the seminal management books of the past 75 years by the Harvard Business Review. His most recent work focuses on sustainability.