September 22, 2016

GATES-FERRY LECTURER AT CENTENARY TO DISCUSS HIS OWN EXPERIENCES WITH BEING AUTISTIC

National Speaker, Kerry Magro, To Deliver a Lecture on October 11, 2016

Centenary University’s Gates-Ferry Distinguished Visiting Lecturer, Kerry Magro, will conduct a presentation at 6 p.m. on October 11, 2016 at the Sitnik Theatre in the David and Carol Lackland Center. Magro will address the audience with the following presentation: “Defining Autism: From Nonverbal to National Speaker.” This event is free and open to the public.

Kerry Magro is a 28-year-old national motivational speaker, disability advocate and consultant. In 2011, Magro won Autism Society’s Outstanding Individual
with Autism Award. His book, “Defining Autism from the Heart” discusses his early years with autism and it became an Amazon best seller in the category of Special Need Parenting. Magro’s second book “Autism and Falling in Love” was released in December 2014. Magro also contributed to the book “College for Students with Disabilities” alongside autism advocates, such as Dr. Temple Grandin.

Magro is well known for his consulting efforts to help others in need. In 2009, Magro also started KFM Making a Difference, a non-profit organization that gives college scholarships to adults with autism. Magro became an advocate for the disability community after coming out about having autism for the first time while attending Seton Hall University as a freshman in 2007.

“I am so pleased that Kerry Magro will serve as Gates-Ferry Visiting Distinguished Lecturer this fall,” says Dr. James Patterson, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Centenary University. “The timing of his talk is very pertinent as our Common Book selection for first year students this year was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which immersed readers in the mind of a fictional 15-year old boy on the autism spectrum. But Kerry Magro is no fiction; our students will be able to learn from the lived experience of an eloquent witness to autism.”

His talk covers how Magro survived his education experience while being on the spectrum and how his experiences, both good and bad, can help students with disabilities from early childhood to the transition into adulthood. He will also discuss his involvement in disability advocacy at many levels: his experience with early-development therapies, the organizations he has founded for disability awareness and special-needs housing and his two best-selling books.

Earlier that day, Magro will deliver a talk titled “I Used to be Bullied for Having Autism: Here’s When it Stopped” for the Centenary community.

ABOUT THE GATES-FERRY DISTINGUISHED VISITING LECTURESHIP

The Gates-Ferry Distinguished Visiting Lectureship at Centenary University recognizes the dedication to the College of Joseph R. Ferry, Trustee from 1948 to 1976 and treasurer of the Board of Trustees for 20 years. It was established to set high standards and goals for students and faculty alike, and to enrich the quality of life on the Centenary campus.

ABOUT CENTENARY UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary University’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix is designed to provide an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world.

Centenary University’s main campus is located in Hackettstown, N.J., with its equestrian facility in Washington Township (Morris County). The Centenary University School of Professional Studies offers degree programs in two locations: Parsippany and Edison, online and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey. The School of International Programs recruits international students for study at Centenary and Centenary students for study abroad.