Professor Richard Willis arrived at Western New England University in 2012 as Executive in Residence in Business Analytics & Information Management. A 1980 WNE alumnus with a BSBA in Quantitative Methods who earned his MS in Computer Information Systems at Bentley University, he taught a wide range of business analytics courses at Western New England. 

“Rich was a professional educator who had excellent work experience that he brought into the classroom,” said Dr. Sharianne Walker, Dean of the College of Business. “He was ultimately very impactful on students, in part because of that professional experience, but also because of his ability to make the material accessible to students. He took very technical matters and theories and was able to distill them in a way that was understandable and appropriate to where students were in their education.”

Professor Willis is a Project Management Institute (PMI) Certified Project Management Professional and a member of PMI and its local chapter, PMI SNEC, as well as the Quality Assurance Institute. He underwent Microsoft Office certification training in 2013, and his consultancy efforts include Microsoft Project training for an area engineering firm at the Kittredge Center for Business and Workforce Development and project management engagement for the installation of a new tennis facility for the town of Ellington, CT.