Inside DELTA: 5 Questions with Chris Willis

Chris Willis is kinda judgy — in a professionally judgy kinda way. His role as Associate Director for DELTA Research and Analysis was once described to him as being “professionally judgmental.” 

“I get to ask questions for a living, and as a result I get to share what folks think, feel and do,” Willis explained. “I generally explain my job as helping the folks in DELTA tell the stories of what they’ve done, why they’ve done it and what they’ve accomplished.”

Eight years into his role, the ripple effect of his professional judgmentalism has had a thoroughly positive effect on student success and engagement at NC State, impacting dozens of projects and hundreds of members of the campus community. 

What is your role with DELTA?

As a member of the Research and Analysis team, Willis manages the evaluation and assessment of course redesign and educational technology projects in partnership with various DELTA colleagues and NC State instructors. His work focuses on improving tech integration into online and hybrid courses to foster instructor skill development, which in turn improves student learning outcomes. 

“Day-to-day, that means I’m working with my colleagues and faculty principal investigators (PIs) to establish evaluation goals, create surveys and other data collection instruments, collect data and put our findings into the context of the instructional challenge at hand,” he explained. 

As fall semester gets rolling, Willis is working on a project to collect data from students enrolled in the summer 2024 Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions course (Y)Our Health. “We’re also working on reports for past projects and some other fun (nerdy) stuff,” he said. 

Willis embraces the nerdy side of his job — managing data collection, data analysis and reporting — but also enjoys training others in best practices for quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. He was a teaching assistant in graduate school and appreciates the opportunity to share his knowledge.

He was also a substitute K-12 teacher for a while — but that’s story for another time. 

What is your background?

Willis has completed an impressive four college degrees and is progressing through his fifth, a doctorate in Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development in the NC State College of Education. He is currently working on a dissertation proposal exploring the intersection of mental health, student success and academic entitlement. 

Clearly, he loves learning.  

As an undergrad pursuing his degree in psychology at the University of Oklahoma, Willis studied abroad at Blaise Pascal University in Clermont-Ferrand, France, where he worked on his French in the shadow of the tectonic hotspot Chaîne des Puys volcanic range. 

After graduating with his B.A., he worked for a time as a research assistant in applied social research. Wanting to pursue graduate studies, however, Willis moved 1,600 miles to Hartford, Connecticut to enroll at the University of Connecticut.

It was quite the sea change from Norman, Oklahoma. 

It was also far from home, but made less lonely by the arrival of J.R. Gambino into Willis’ life. The two met through an online dating platform, and, as J.R. was a New Jerseyan, they sustained a long-distance relationship until Willis convinced J.R. to join him in Connecticut. 

They married a few years later at a cool little museum in New Jersey.

Not content with just one Master’s degree, at UConn Willis earned two concurrently: a Master’s in Public Administration and a Master’s in Survey Research. During his studies, he worked a student job as a survey researcher and communications assistant, kicking off the career trajectory in survey research and analysis that would follow. 

Before long, it was time for Willis to be off again, this time to Boston and Northeastern University, where he earned his third Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. 

Then there was a three-year stint at East Stroudsburg University, a 3,000-student branch of the Penn State system, where Willis worked in institutional assessment and accreditation. The job and environment proved to be another sea change. 

“It was an interesting experience, having attended and worked for large state schools for so long,” he said. “Ultimately I think I missed being at a larger institution with more resources and opportunities.”

Accordingly, in 2016 the pair made the move south to North Carolina, where J.R. has family and where Willis found his place at DELTA.

What do you enjoy about your work?

Willis is deeply appreciative of the synergy of his colleagues. “The best thing about working here is the atmosphere of working within this team,” he said. “I’ve never been a part of a team that has been so collaborative, innovative and professional, while also managing to be fun, down to earth and (sometimes, hilariously) sassy.”

He credits his supervisor Traci Temple, DELTA’s Director of Research and Analysis, with fostering an inclusive and supportive workplace. “Traci’s created an environment from day one of being able to just be who you are,” he said. “This is the first job I’ve ever had like this.”

A new aspect of Willis’ professional role is mentoring. As a supervisor to Education Specialist Paul Couture, Willis was delighted to experience the symbiotic nature of being a mentor. He noted that his expertise in research, survey writing and management grew significantly as he guided Couture in the development of these fundamental skills.

“I have absolutely loved being a mentor to Paul,” he said. “It’s been so great having someone else to work closely with on all the DELTA Grants projects and other research we do. We hold each other accountable, help keep our heads straight and dive deeper into each project to give it the attention it deserves.” 

What is something people may not know about you?

If you know Chris Willis, if you’ve walked by his cubicle in the last few years, even if you’ve only seen his Google thumbnail picture, you probably already know this — but just in case: Willis is a cat enthusiast. A committed cat person. A moggy fan. An ailurophille. Team cat. Living his best cat-centric life. 

He and J.R. have six of them — so far. 

Note: Anyone who does not fully love cat life may want to skip ahead a section, because we’re about to go into some detail here. 

There’s Gooseberry, their first, who showed up crying in a rainstorm and was so small she fit on a saucer. “She’s a bit dumb, but a sweetheart who loves to coo like a pigeon,” Willis said. 

Next came Paisley and Betty, siblings who showed up not long after Gooseberry in the basement of the very same house. Paisley always sounds inordinately grumpy when demanding treats or pets and Betty is that rare feline specimen who loves, LOVES to be brushed.

The 100-year-old Pennsylvanian house, Willis explained, had some structural oddities that might account for the excess of stray cats taking up residence in the basement. One wonders, though, if there wasn’t some sort of underground network of strays passing out the address in exchange for a can of tuna. Or something. 

Cat number four was Sunny, the excessively floofy creamsicle, who was a housewarming gift when Willis and J.R. moved to North Carolina. Grumpy Paisley and Sunny have taken to each other, always seeking each other out for cuddle time in a clear example of opposites attracting. 

“Sunny’s got a tiny squeak for a voice and loves nothing more than when I can work from home so she can sleep next to me on the couch,” Willis said. Snuggling with kitties on the couch while meeting work deadlines is a purr-fect situation for them both. 

Jet and Alice, cats five and six, are another set of siblings — and came from none other than Temple, Willis’ supervisor. Knowing Willis’ fondness for cats, she asked him and J.R. to become foster parents for this pair. “We bottle fed them from two weeks old, and almost six years later they’re still with us,” Willis said. 

The pair are firm members of the DELTA pet pantheon. “I had to bring them into DELTA one day while still bottle feeding — so they bunked in Traci’s office,” Willis said. And even DELTA Grants recipients got in on the kitten action: “Sarah Khan also got to meet them that day because I mentioned them when she came in to kick off her grant that year.”

Naturally, the cats are ridiculously spoiled and rule the house. “When I get coffee or make something in the toaster,” Willis explained, “they come running — usually for cream cheesies (our cat term for cream cheese).” 

What do you do in your spare time?

“You mean aside from loving on our six cats?” 

Cats aside (literally), Willis enjoys a variety of creative endeavors. He’s an amateur photographer, dabbles in a bit of poetry-writing, loves gardening, embroiders, and sews on the new sewing machine he got for his birthday a few months ago. 

“I’ve tried to limit myself on the sewing machine since I should be writing for my dissertation,” he explained. “But I plan on making a pair of pajama shorts out of an awesome pink cat fabric I found, and a t-shirt out of this fabric with a fried egg patterned all over it. It’s going to be so ridiculous; I can’t wait.”

Though he hasn’t shared much of his work, Willis also enjoys creating digital art and drawing. “I appreciate the chance to try to get something out of my head and onto (digital) paper,” he said. 

He and J.R. also really love cruising. Last fall, they took a cruise to Turks and Caicos and the Dominican Republic, and later this month they’re headed west for an 8-day Alaskan cruise out of Seattle. The itinerary is chock-full, including stops in Juneau — where they will go whale watching — Skagway, the Tracy Arm Fjord, Ketchikan and Victoria, British Columbia. 

A lot has changed for Willis in the eight years he’s been in North Carolina. He’s gotten married, grown his hair long (“I started growing it out during COVID — didn’t we all? — now I love it!”), lost more than 100 pounds, started a doctoral program, solidified his status as a crazy cat parent and found a job he genuinely enjoys. 

Indeed, Willis has carved out a space for himself at DELTA that is truly meaningful. In the words of his Facebook page intro, “I’ve turned being judgmental and salty into a full-time job.”