ORONO – Elizabeth DePoy, professor of social work and coordinator of interdisciplinary disability studies at the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, recently was honored with the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association.

The award is presented to a person who, over the course of his or her career, has made a major contribution to the improvement of health and quality of life for people with disabilities in one or more areas of research, teaching or advocacy.

James Rimmer, chair of the American Public Health Association’s Disability Section, presented the award during the association’s recent 2008 Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego. Founded in 1872, the American Public Health Association is one of the oldest, largest and most diverse organizations of public health professionals in the world.

DePoy is author or co-author of eight books, contributed chapters to edited collections and published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles. Her recent publications include co-written books on evaluation, disability and research.

Dorothy E. Nary, Disability Section Awards Committee chair, says DePoy’s work, combined with her passion for literature in a wide variety of fields, “is unique, original and more importantly, significant in improving community responses to enhance the lives and health of all individuals, including those with disabilities.”