Insight Series

^{Spring 2022}
Dr. Temple Grandin was nonverbal until nearly four years of age. Inspired by her science teacher, she embarked on a career in science studying animal husbandry, for which she has received much notoriety. At the age of 18, she invented the “squeeze box” as a way of coping with extreme anxiety. Dr. Grandin is now one the most visible and leading advocates for individuals with autism. Her life was brought to the screen with the HBO film Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes. This event is sponsored by the Department of Psychology.

_{March 2, 2022: San Marcos Campus}

^{Fall 2021}
Michelle Obama is a lawyer, writer, and the wife of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. She was the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Through her four main initiatives, she has become a role model for women and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls education. This event is co-sponsored with First Gen Proud.

_{November 9, 2021}
^{2021-2022 Common Experience Theme: Compassion}

^{Fall 2020}
Gymnast Laurie Hernandez was winner of the team gold and individual silver medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Game and winner of the Mirrorball Trophy on Dancing with the Stars Season 23 — both feats accomplished at age 16. She was just 20 at the time of her Insight Series event, making her the youngest speaker in Common Experience history. The live-streamed event drew Texas State's largest live-online audience for an academic event: 2,095.

_{October 20, 2020}
^{2020-2021 Common Experience Theme: Dynamics}

^{Fall 2019}
Physician, professor, and public health advocate who spearheaded efforts to reveal, publicize and fix the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Author of What the Eyes Don't See, Texas State's 2019-2020 Common Reading book.

_{September 18, 2019}
^{2019-2020 Common Experience Theme: Truth}

^{Spring 2019}
In The Legend of Big Bend, chamber music group Montopolis turned West Texas tales into song in this live-score performance and film inspired by Big Bend National Park. The performance wove science, history, poetry, and personal stories into music, and Texas State University student musicians performed with Montopolis, doubling the musical talent onstage. This event was funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

_{April 8, 2019}
^{2018-2019 Common Experience Theme: Innovation}

^{Fall 2018}
Dr. David Eagleman and Dr. Anthony Brandt — a neuroscientist and a composer, respectively — are co-authors of The Runaway Species, Texas State's 2018-2019 Common Reading book. Eagleman is CEO and co-founder of Neosensory, and he teaches neuroscience at Stanford University and hosts The Brain on PBS. Brandt is a professor of composition and theory at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and he composes orchestral, chamber, and vocal music.

_{September 24, 2018}
^{2018-2019 Common Experience Theme: Innovation}

^{Fall 2018}
Father Gregory Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, the world’s largest gang intervention and rehab program.

_{September 18, 2018}
^{2018-2019 Common Experience Theme: Innovation}

^{Fall 2017}
The first Insight Series event featured author Anthony Graves, who spent 18+ years in prison (12 on Texas Death Row) for a crime he did not commit.

_{October 10, 2017}
^{2017-2018 Common Experience Theme: The Search for Justice}