Professor elected vice president of American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

LAWRENCE — Susan Palmer has been elected vice president of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), the oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization of professionals and citizens concerned about intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Palmer is a research professor with the Life Span Institute’s Beach Center on Disability and Kansas Center on Developmental Disabilities whose research focuses on developmental aspects of children and youth with disabilities concerning learning and achievement.

The position is a four-year commitment, starting July 15 as vice president and proceeding to president-elect, president, then past-president in subsequent years. Other KU faculty who have been elected to national AAIDD leadership include Michael  Wehmeyer,  Ann Turnbull,  H.R. “Rud” Turnbull and Steven Warren. The AAIDD mission is to promote progressive policies, sound research, effective practices and universal human rights for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.