New Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies director named

Alan Cobo Lewis

Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Carol Kim has named Alan Cobo-Lewis, associate professor of psychology, as the director of the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) at the University of Maine.

CCIDS is one of 68 federally funded University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) established under the federal Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act.

Cobo-Lewis received his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1988 from the University of Miami and his Ph.D. in psychology in 1992 from the University of Wisconsin, where he was a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellow. He joined the UMaine faculty in 1998.

Cobo-Lewis has a 28-year history of involvement with UCEDDs, beginning with his participation in a research project as an undergraduate at the Mailman Center for Child Development in Miami, Florida. He continued his involvement as a graduate student at the Waisman Center for Human Development in Madison, Wisconsin. At UMaine, he has led community-engaged research projects involving members of the CCIDS.

An active member of the disability community in Maine, Cobo-Lewis has served as a longtime member and leader of the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council. He has earned the respect of legislators and advocates for his work in Maine disability policy and has received awards for his advocacy, including the University of Maine Presidential Public Service Award.