I received my Ph.D from the University of Illinois and have been teaching at California Lutheran University since 1963. I have been the Head of the Department of Biology for the last three years and teach microbiology, environmental ecology, flora of Southern California, wildflowers of the Sierras, and the freshman biology course for the majors. In the spring of 2007, I received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
I have authored 10 books, including the 3rd edition of “Key to Coastal and Chaparral Flowering Plants of Southern California.” I also wrote a small guide for the plants of Holden Village. With my husband, Larry, as a joint photographer and my son as web designer, we have put together 5 websites, containing more than 10,000 images. They include (1) the wildflowers of California (chaparral, desert, mountains, and the north coast), (2) the wildflowers and scenery of the Canadian Rockies, (3) garden flowers of Southern California, (4) plants in the campus gardens at California Lutheran University, and (5) wildflowers and scenery of Holden Village. See: http://www.clunet.edu/wf, which includes links to the other websites. I am currently writing a book about my fifty years of teaching and adventures titled: “Dr. Collins, you sure do lead a mean trail.” Hopefully, it will be published in the next year, or so.