Simone Billings received her Bachelor's in English Literature from San Francisco State University in 1975, then went on to achieve a Master's in the same in 1979 before attaining her PhD from Stanford University in 1994. She worked at the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University as a lecturer before coming to Santa Clara University in 1980. Since then, she has taught mostly non-fiction writing courses in the English Department while also advising students, serving on the Faculty Senate, and fulfilling a number of administrative roles at the University, including serving as assistant to the President of Santa Clara University from 2006-2009. She was a US Fulbright Scholar in 2009 and 2019, and has taught workshops and courses in the US and abroad.

Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original 21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name. Bibliography: Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010) McKevitt, Gerald, S.J. The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.