Elizabeth "Betty" Moran, professor emerita in English, died on June 23 after a long illness. She was 95 years old. Betty joined the English Department at Santa Clara in 1963 as one of three women faculty at the University. She retired in 1994 and thereafter received emerita status.
Betty was a woman of "firsts" and made her mark at Santa Clara as a teacher, scholar and administrator. She was the first woman to gain tenure in the College of Arts and Sciences; was the first woman elected president of the Faculty Senate; was the first woman to direct the Grants and Fellowships Office and the Faculty Development Program; served as the first woman chair of the Affirmative Action Committee; and founded and directed the Teaching and Learning Center. As a pioneer in African and African-American literature, Betty was the first at Santa Clara to teach a course in African literature. Her persistent work to establish a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Santa Clara paid off in 1977 when we became the first Catholic institution west of the Mississippi River to earn a chapter.
Moran had a 31-year career at Santa Clara before her retirement in 1994. And in a 1988 proclamation in her honor, the Rev. Paul Locatelli, then Santa Clara’s president, said, "Now let it therefore be known that whereas Sainte Clare is the First Lady of Santa Clara, Elizabeth J. Moran is the Second Lady of Santa Clara University."
Moran didn’t slow down much in retirement, either. She worked with homeless women and children as co-hairwoman of the Georgia Travis Center board for InnVision.
Betty will be remembered for her service, collegiality, and generosity as a teacher and mentor. Santa Clara has lost a dedicated member of the University community. We join with Betty’s family and all who mourn her loss and thank God for the gift of her long life. Please keep Betty and her family in your thoughts and prayers. May she rest in peace.