Donna Y. Ford, Ph.D., is Betts Chair of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. She teaches in the Department of Special Education. Ford has been a professor of special education at the Ohio State University, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Virginia, and a researcher with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. She also taught at the University of Kentucky. Ford earned her doctoral degree in urban education (educational psychology), master's degree (counseling), and bachelor's degree in communications and Spanish from Cleveland State University.
Dr. Ford conducts research primarily in gifted education and multicultural/urban education. Specifically, her work focuses on: (a) recruiting and retaining culturally diverse students in gifted education, (b) multicultural and urban education, (c) minority student achievement and underachievement, and (d) family involvement. She consults with school districts and educational organizations in the areas of gifted education and multicultural/urban education.
