Roland Wills (1930–2025): ‘He inspired students, faculty and staff alike to greatness’

Professor Emeritus Roland Wills, former associate dean and professor in the Faculty of Commerce and Administration, now the John Molson School of Business, passed away on December 27, 2025. He was 95.

Wills began his career at Sir George Williams, one of Concordia’s founding institutions, in 1963. He was an assistant professor of quantitative methods before being promoted to associate professor and full professor. Among his many roles at the university, he served as associate dean of academic programs and student affairs, chair of the graduate studies committee, assistant dean and Deputy Speaker of Senate.

“He inspired students, faculty and staff alike to greatness,” says Murielle Salari, assistant to the associate dean of undergraduate programs at the John Molson School. “He cared deeply for staff, students, education and his family.”

In 1988, Wills won the Commerce and Administration Student Association (CASA) Award for Student Life. An interview with former CASA president Derrick Ajmo published in October 1989 in Concordia’s Thursday Report opens with, “What’s so great about Roland Wills?” to which Ajmo replies, “how much time have you got?”

In a letter to Wills, former dean Christopher A. Ross (1991–1994) praised him as “one of the great teachers in the Faculty” and “one of the greatest motivators of students,” saying that students referred to him as “Super Prof.”

In 1992, according to a report from the CASA Board of Directors, a new computer lab would be dedicated to Wills in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to past, present and future students of the Commerce and Administration Faculty.”

“The R.O. Wills Computer Lab was created by students who had a deep respect for him,” Salari adds. “He guided students in successfully creating CASA and separating from CSU many years ago.”

Wills was born in Nigeria and grew up in British Guyana. He immigrated to Canada in his twenties, attending Dalhousie University in Halifax and earning a BSc in Chemistry and Physiology. He went on to get his MBA from the University of Windsor and worked in the pharmaceutical industry before joining Sir George Williams, now Concordia.

Outside the university, Wills was devoted to his community and his church. He received the Jackie Robinson Award from the Montreal Association of Black Business Persons and Professionals in recognition of his contributions to business education.

“I always appreciated how Professor Wills treated everyone — faculty, students, support staff alike — with the same warmth, humour and compassion,” says Cynthia Law, manager of graduate administration and student services at John Molson.

“He had a special gift for making people feel valued and seen.”