This July, the College of Social Science celebrates Disability Independence Day and recognizes members of the Michigan State community working to advance equity, belonging and independence among the disabled community. Our Access Champion for July, Cooper Maher, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice who engages in research examining the association between disabilities—particularly intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)—and victimization risk, consequences, and reporting, as well as how individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience the criminal justice system.
Maher arrived at Michigan State for his first year of teaching in Fall 2025, having recently earned his PhD in Criminal Justice from University of Cincinnati. He graduated with undergraduate and graduate degrees from Weber State. Serving in the army after high school greatly influenced his interest in and decision to study criminal justice.
Maher’s research into cybercrime and disability began at Cincinnati when he worked on a project with his graduate advisor, Dr. Brittany Hayes, examining communication barriers to help-seeking among victims of violence against women- particularly those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. She helped him bridge his own interests in cybercrime with working among the disabled population.
“That’s really where my research lives now- trying to understand how having a cognitive or intellectual disability might influence one’s risk of being targeted for certain forms of cyber crimes, like romance fraud or identity theft,” Maher said.
Maher was drawn to Michigan State after seeing its preexisting foundation of cybercrime research and the ways in which he could incorporate this into his own research into the same areas, but through the lens of disability. “An under-evaluated component of cybercrime research is the role that disability plays in shaping individuals’ risks,” he explained.
By further researching the unique risk factors that exist among this group, Maher explains, we can also discover ways to better tailor our informational resources and protective measures surrounding fraud prevention. One of the biggest first steps is to use more simplified, inclusive language in these materials and remove the barrier to access and understanding. The benefits of this will ripple beyond just the disabled community.
“Fraud is a global issue, and the beauty of that kind of approach and prioritizing accessibility is that it helps everyone in the end,” he said. “It’s the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that’s really my hope for this research.”
Maher is looking forward to conducting more research that involves collaboration with both his students and the greater disabled community. In addition to consulting with these individuals when first developing research projects, he also circles back after the fact and shares his findings in easy to read formats. This portion is especially important to the community, who often rally around the phrase, “Nothing about us without us.”
“We want them to be stakeholders and equal partners in developing this research,” Maher said.
July is all about celebrating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which Maher explains is an important first step, but not the final step, towards increasing protections for this group. “What I hope to do with my research of disability and cyber crime is to illuminate what some of those next steps might be, to help better protect and serve folks with disabilities, to mitigate risk of cyber victimization, and to better respond to it from the criminal justice system side as well.”
Honorees’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the College of Social Science or School of Criminal Justice.