Timothy Collins
Timothy Collins
Ph.D, Assistant Director
Stipes 520
309-298-3412
T-collins@wiu.edu
Timothy Collins is assistant director of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. He has a Ph.D in sociology (rural) from the University of Kentucky (1995), an M.S. in agricultural economics from West Virginia University (1986), and a B.A. in journalism from The Ohio State University (1975).
Responsibilities
Collins is responsible for working with the Director to provide leadership in IIRA activities and to conduct outreach, research, and teaching activities.
Research Interests
Collins has helped author more than 70 publications and reports on diverse issues, including environmental policy, economic development, land use, and rural education. His current research interests include rural education and rural community development.
Employment Experience
Before coming to the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs, Collins was an educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension. As leader of the Capital Region Economic and Community Development Team, he was responsible for land use education, leadership, and agricultural economic development. Before coming to Pennsylvania, Dr. Collins was director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools in Charleston, West Virginia. There, he developed a manual on parental engagement for schools and researched the use of rural schools as tools for community and economic development. As director of research at the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center in Lexington, Dr. Collins worked with communities on comprehensive planning and project evaluation, researched parental participation in schools, and managed mapping and other research functions.
