Ed Willis is a seasoned university administrator providing vision and leadership for diverse student-body environments, while managing key internal and external stakeholder relationships involving student affairs.  He possesses a deep understanding of the academic process and its relationship to student issues, as well as the ability to identify and implement initiatives that promote student-centered communities, improve the quality of the student experience, and bolster university relations.  As a leading expert on student-centered learning environments, Ed has held significant roles at major research universities, historically black colleges and universities, and large commuting/community colleges with student populations from 7K to 40K.

Throughout his career, Ed has led strategic planning, policy and procedure development, and climate/culture change initiatives.  He has had oversight of budgets from $4.2M to $20M and teams of 100 to 500.  As the senior leader of student affairs teams, Ed provides administrative, operational, and programmatic direction that spanned Admissions, Financial Aid, Scholarships, New Student Orientation, Registrar, Student Advocacy Services, Military Services and Veteran Affairs, Career Services, Counseling Services, Disability Services, International Student Services, Living-Learning Communities, Residence Life and Housing, Student Activities, Student Health Services, Student Life, Student Recreation Programs, Student Rights and Responsibilities, Student Support Services, the Marching Band, Cheerleaders, and Campus Choir.  He initiated and executed procedures for accreditation, assessment, strategic planning, human resource management, budgeting, development of policy/procedures, and special projects such as university lead on the development of a comprehensive Housing/Residential Life Master Plan to guide the replacement and refurbishment of student housing.

Ed holds a Masters of Education in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey Graduate School of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in American History from Montclair State University.  His accreditation experience includes serving as an Evaluator of On-site Reaffirmation Committees for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and he has served as an Evaluation Team Member for six institutions, (2011-2017) and was appointed to serve on the SACSCOC June 2016 Fifth Year Review Committee (Reviewing 44 institutions on 17 Principles of Accreditation).  Ed belongs to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), and the Association of Governing Boards (AGB).

A trusted advisor to university presidents and governing boards, Ed has served on the following university committees:  President’s Executive Council; Fiscal Advisory Committee; various Search Committees; Policy Development/Strategic Planning Committees; Service-Learning Steering Committee; High-risk Behavior Campaign; Institutional-level Assessment Committee; Student Retention Council; Undergraduate Council Diversity Task Force; Provost’s Task Force on Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian, and Gay Affairs; Co-chair of Fan Behavior committee; Executive Enrollment Management Council; and as a member of a Collective Bargaining Management Team.

To contact Ed, please email him at willis@jngi.org or call (828)233-5874.