Crawford Cleveland serves as Associate General Counsel for the University of Maine System, where he advises System leadership, Maine’s seven public universities, and the University of Maine School of Law. His practice areas include Research & Innovation, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Equal Opportunity, Title IX, ADA compliance, and litigation. He is currently licensed to practice law in Maine and North Carolina.
He brings over a decade of legal experience to the System in higher education law and advising institutional clients. Prior to his move to Maine in 2025, he served as Senior Associate General Counsel for Litigation and Regulatory Affairs to Appalachian State University in North Carolina where he spent six years as counsel. Along the way, he helped close a $250 million public-private partnership to build four new residence halls, advised the University Foundation on the acquisition and transformation of the former Corning Optical Communications headquarters for use as a satellite campus with a tight turnaround time, and represented the University-owned electric utility in a rate-case before the North Carolina Utilities Commission. After Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, he helped lead the University’s disaster recovery work and began partnering with FEMA on how higher education can be genuinely useful in a crisis. He continues that work today as a subject-matter expert to two FEMA collaboratives.
Crawford was born in New Orleans and grew up on the Gulf Coast, which makes his enthusiasm for Maine winters either surprising or overdue. He is an Alpine Patroller with the National Ski Patrol, enjoys taking in as many University of Maine hockey games as he can with his family, and enjoys a casual round of golf when the weather is nice. He loves exploring New England with his wife, Brynn, and their two boys, Harry & Ferris.
