PhD
Professor Emeritus
George Mason University, Fairfax Campus
4400 University Dr.
MS 4B3
Fairfax, VA 22030
Dr. Virginia P. Collier is Professor Emerita of Bilingual/Multicultural/ESL Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, located in the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C. She is best known for her work with senior researcher, Dr. Wayne Thomas, on school effectiveness for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Spotlighted by the national and international media, their award-winning national research studies have had a substantial impact on school policies in the United States and abroad. A popular speaker, Dr. Collier has given 165 keynote speeches and 282 invited presentations to international, national, state, and local conferences over the past 25 years. She and Dr. Thomas have also conducted educational leadership training for superintendents, principals, and education policy makers in 29 U.S. states and 15 countries. She is co-author with Carlos Ovando of the professional reference book, Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in Multicultural Contexts, with the third edition published by McGraw-Hill in 2003. This book is a well-known, comprehensive reference on research, policy, and effective practices in U.S. schools for students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In addition, Dr. Collier has over 70 other publications in the field of language minority education, including her popular monograph, Promoting Academic Success for ESL Students. In 1989, she received the Distinguished Faculty Award from George Mason University for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Proficient in Spanish and English, having lived in Central America during her childhood, she has served the field of language minority education for over three decades as parent, teacher, researcher, teacher educator, and doctoral mentor.
Book, Book-Length Monographs and Book Chapters
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No courses taught this semester.