​Dr. Belle Wheelan served as President of the Southern Association of Colleges  and Schools Commission on Colleges for more than twenty year and was the first African American and the first woman to serve in this capacity. Her career spans over 51 years and includes the roles of  faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president and  Secretary of Education. In several of those roles she was the first African American  and/or woman to serve in those capacities. 

Dr. Wheelan received her Bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in Texas  (1972) with a double major in Psychology and Sociology; her Master’s from Louisiana  State University (1974) in Developmental Educational Psychology; and her Doctorate  from the University of Texas at Austin (1984) in Educational Administration with a  special concentration in community college leadership.  

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She has received numerous awards and recognition including six honorary  degrees; the Distinguished Graduate Award from Trinity University (2002), and from the  College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin (1992); Washingtonian  Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, DC (2001); the AAUW Woman  of Distinction Award (2002); the Suanne Davis Roueche National Institute for Staff and  Organizational Development’s Distinguished Lecturer Award (2007); the John E.  Roueche National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development’s International  Leadership Award (2010); and the AACC Leadership Award (2011); the John Hope  Franklin Award from Diverse Issues in Higher Education for outstanding leadership in  higher education; the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Terry O’Banion Prize in  Education from the League for Innovation in Community Colleges; in 2017, Central  Virginia Community College named her President Emerita, the National Forum for Black  Public Administrators (NFBPA) Leadership Award (2022); and the John N. Gardner  Institute for Excellence in Higher Education Distinguished Leader of American Higher  Education Award (2025).  

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She holds and has held membership in numerous local, state and national  organizations including Rotary International; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; the American College Testing, Inc., Board of Directors; American Association of  Community Colleges, Board of Directors; the Lumina Foundation for Education, Board  of Directors; the President’s Round Table of the National Council on Black American  Affairs; the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, Board of Directors; Excelencia in Education, Board of Directors; National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Community  College Honorary Board; Next Generation Learning Challenges, Advisory Panel; Project  GOALS (Gaining Online Accessible Learning Through Self-Study); and the National  Student Clearinghouse, Board of Directors.  

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Dr. Wheelan attributes her success to hard work, endurance, tenacity, and being in  the right place at the right time. She recognizes that prayer and support from family and  friends make anything possible.

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Dr. Wheelan is the mother of an adult son named Reginald.