Prof. Higgs was raised in a Christian family in Abilene, TX, where in 1965 he received a B. A. in English from Abilene Christian College. He earned a Ph.D in English from the University of Pittsburgh in 1965, after which he taught for 36 years at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, retiring in 2001. He lives with his wife Laquita in Jackson, MI, where their two adult daughters also reside, and where he continues to be active in writing Christian meditations and poetry.