Kendall College of Arts & Sciences has named Professor Bruce Dean Willis as director of the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities, an internationally recognized hub that brings together scholars, artists and community members to deepen our understanding of what it means to be human. Willis has taught as a professor of Spanish and comparative literature in The University of Tulsa’s School of Language & Literature for 24 years, where he has also served in various administrative roles, including department chair and associate dean.
A specialist in Latin American cultures, he has authored two books on literature from Spanish America and Brazil, as well as numerous articles and book chapters. His most recent project focuses on contemporary Mexican and Mexican American writers and artists.
“Professor Willis brings a combination of vision, administrative skill, and deep connections to Tulsa’s growing Latino and Hispanic communities that will help us expand the audience and impact of the humanities center in its second decade,” said Blaine Greteman, dean of Kendall College.
Willis served as a fellow for the center from 2016 to 2017. His participation in that year’s seminar on food lead to his chapter on the cultural history of cacao in the edited volume “Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics,” an “Oklahoma Humanities” article on corn and cacao and two local productions of his original play, “Time for Chocolate.”
UTulsa’s Oklahoma Center for the Humanities was founded in 2014 by then-Dean Kalpana Misra with the help of an endowment from Patricia “Patti” L. D’Arcy (B.F.A. ’49) and her husband, Jerry F. D’Arcy (B.S. ’49). The center was developed by a group of faculty and administrators with a shared goal of developing a public think tank focused on core questions of history, identity, ethics, memory, art, music and literature.
“The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities has been enriching the Tulsa region and beyond for a dozen years now,” Willis reflected. “It’s a prize-winning institution thanks to the dedication and labor of its founding director, Professor Sean Latham, with support from the organization’s staff, the UTulsa administration and the internal and external advisory boards.”
Willis has served as an associate director since 2025. “As the new director, I aim to keep the momentum going and build on years of success by pursuing collaborative efforts with other local and regional institutions, diversifying our programming and continuing to grow our audience,” he said.