Dr. Belva C. Collins served as a rural special education teacher before embarking on a 30-year career in higher education. She is Professor Emeritus and former Department Chair at both the University of North Carolina – Charlotte and the University of Kentucky. Her expertise is in working with students with significant support needs in inclusive settings and personnel preparation in special education. In addition to authoring over 100 research publications and book chapters, she is the author of texts on systematic instruction, special education teacher leadership, and distance education in special education.
During her career, she received the Teacher Educator of the Year award from the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, the Eagle award for rural service from the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES), and the outstanding research study award from the Journal of Special Education Technology. Dr. Collins was active on the executive board of the Higher Education Consortium on Special Education and the board of ACRES, where she also served as Chair and Executive Editor of Rural Special Education Quarterly. Since retiring in Richmond, Virginia, in 2018, she has served as adjunct instructor and doctoral research mentor at Northern Arizona University as well as a consultant on several federal grants.