Francis Willis (academic) explained

Francis Willis D.D. (a.k.a. Francis Wyllis; died 1597) was an academic administrator at the University of Oxford and Dean of Worcester.

In 1577, Willis was elected President of St John's College, Oxford, a post he held until 1590.^[1] While President at St John's College, he was also Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1587 until 1588.^{[2] [3]} He was also a canon of Bristol Cathedral, of which city he was said to be a native.^[4]

Willis was Dean of Worcester from 1586 until his death in 1597.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: H. E. Salter and Mary D. Lobel . A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 3: The University of Oxford . . 1954. 251–264 . St. John's College . July 25, 2011.
2. Web site: Previous Vice-Chancellors . University of Oxford, UK . July 25, 2011 . April 19, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140419085125/https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/vc/position/previousvice-chancellors/ . dead .
3. Book: The Historical Register of the University of Oxford. University of Oxford. University of Oxford. . . 1888 . 21–27 . Vice-Chancellors . July 25, 2011.
4. Fasti Oxonienses of Annals of the University of Oxford, part I, 1500-1640, ed. Anthony Wood, London, p. 241
5. B. Green, Bishops and Deans of Worcester. Worcester, 1979.