Professor Billings received a B.S.N. from Duke University in 1964 (Nursing) and an Ed.D. from Indiana University in 1986 (instructional design and community health nursing). She joined IU in 1969 and became the Chancellor's Professor in 2002. She is the Associate Dean of Teaching, Learning and Information Resources and is responsible for the Office of Lifelong Learning, the Center for Excellence in Teaching, the Learning Lab, the Computer Cluster, and the technical support staff. Dr. Billings acts as a resource locally as well as nationally and internationally in the field of distance education. Currently, her projects, grants, publications, committee involvements, and consulting engagements focus in the area of online learning. Through a $2.3 million FIPSE grant, she has developed three online academic courses to meet the needs of critical care nurses. This grant project is a partnership with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and Clarian Health Partners. Professor Billings has been recognized for her publications and work in distance education with such achievements as the Ross Pioneer Spirit Award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (2002); Distinguished Alumni, Duke University (2002); Teacher Excellence Recognition Award (1999); Founders' Award for Excellence in Education, Sigma Theta Tau International (1999); and AJN Book of the Year Award, Teaching in Nursing: A guide for faculty (1998). She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. In 2015, Dr. Billings was awarded the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award to commemorate her and her husband Richard Billing's philanthropic activity. Their first gift was the establishment of the Gerry Jacobsen Award, to honor the wife of Richard's partner in veterinary practice. They have continued this commitment through gifts to the Emily Holmquist Lectureship, the Schweer Continuing Education Lectures, the McBride Professorship and the Bepko Scholars and Fellows Program. Their gifts to the Richard and Diane Billings Faculty Award for Scholarship in Teaching support best practices in teaching.