Background
Willis was the son of William W. Willis and Clara B. (Hailey) Willis.
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William Willis
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Willis was educated at Mississippi College (Bachelor), Columbia University (Master of Arts), and Yale University (Doctor of Philosophy).
Career
Early Scholarly Willis was a professor of Classics at the University of Mississippi from 1946 until 1963, when he relocated to Duke University. Willis" decision to change institutions in 1963 was related, in part, to the strife that surrounded racial integration at the University of Mississippi, a cause that he had both supported and advanced. In 1973 Willis served as president of the American Philological Association.
He was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1980.
Willis" scholarly career included extensive work on papyrology and he published numerous papers dealing with ancient papyri. He was instrumental in advancing the efforts of the papyrus research center, Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, at Duke.
He was credited with producing an electronic edition of the Duke Data Bank of Documentary Papyri that was disseminated on Civil Defense-ROM by the Packard Humanities Institute. At Duke Willis also served as editor of the journal Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies.
Notice published in Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies.
