Justin F. Willett | University of Missouri

About Me

I am on the academic job market seeking a position that starts Fall 2025. I plan to graduate with a Ph.D. in Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism with an emphasis in strategic communication in May 2025.

Research Interests

Narrative persuasion
Health communication
Leadership communication

Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Willett, J. F., LaGree, D., Warner, B. R., Houston, J. B., & Duffy, M. (2024). Flourishing with flexibility: Leader communicative support of flexible work arrangements (FWA) enhances employee engagement and well-being. International Journal of Business Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884241291531

Willett, J. F., Rodgers S., Stemmle, J. (2024). Seeking the public health angle in Missouri newspaper coverage of the opioid crisis. Newspaper Research Journal, 45(3), 311-331. https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329241255158

Zhang, W., Tsou, T.-H., Rodgers, S., & Willett, J. F. (2024). Comparing personalization strategies in social network advertising: The role of impression motivation in persuasion outcomes. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 24(3), 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2024.2337057

Willett, J. F., LaGree, D., Shin, H., Houston, J. B., & Duffy, M. (2023). The role of leader communication in fostering respectful workplace culture and increasing employee engagement and well-being. International Journal of Business Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294884231195614

Refereed Conference Papers

Willett, J. F. (2024, August 8-11). The role of patient stories in health care brand storytelling [Poster session]. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 2024 Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

Willett, J. F., LaGree, D., Warner, B. R., Houston, J. B., & Duffy, M. (2024, June 20-24). Flourishing with flexibility: Leader communicative support of flexible work arrangements (FWA) enhances employee engagement and well-being [High-density session]. International Communication Association 2024 Conference, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Willett, J. F., Rodgers S., Stemmle, J. (2023, August 7-10). Seeking the public health angle in Missouri newspaper coverage of the opioid crisis [Poster session]. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 2023 Conference, Washington, D.C., United States.

Willett, J. F., LaGree, D., Houston, J. B., Shin, H., & Duffy, M. (2023, May 25-29). The role of leader communication in fostering respectful workplace culture and increasing employee engagement and well-being [Paper presentation]. International Communication Association 2023 Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Teaching

Courses Taught

JOURN 4242 Strategic Communication Leadership (School of Journalism)
HLTH_ADM 8470 Strategic Planning and Marketing for Health Care Organizations (College of Health Sciences)

Certifications

Online Teaching
Inclusive Teaching
Writing Intensive (WI)

Awards and Honors

Bonnie and Douglas Wakefield Award
The Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine presents this award annually to a graduating master’s student who has displayed significant achievement and leadership outside the classroom. Learn more.

Education

Ph.D. in Journalism – expected May 2025
Area of study: Strategic Communication
University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri

Master of Health Administration (M.H.A.)
University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri

Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.)
University of Missouri School of Journalism, Columbia, Missouri

Professional Experience

Justin worked as a newspaper reporter and editor from 2001-2014. He worked a variety of beats and held several editing positions at newspapers in Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina. His last newspaper position was associate city editor of the Columbia (Mo) Daily Tribune.

Justin worked in content marketing before joining University of Missouri Health Care in 2015. He served as a writer and editor until 2018, when he was promoted to Communication Manager for MU Health Care and the School of Medicine. During his tenure, he helped rebuild the health system’s external websites.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Willett helped lead the health system’s COVID-19 communication response, including promotion of the health system’s vaccine program. Under Willett’s leadership, the health system’s evidence-based COVID-19 vaccine content garnered millions of pageviews and boosted total pageviews of muhealth.org owned content by nearly 1200% in 2021 (13 times higher than 2020).

Expertise

News reporting and editing
Brand storytelling
Content marketing
Digital and print publications
Website design and strategy
Social media strategy