Willis was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning in 2016, following a three-year period as Pro Vice Chancellor – Research Capability (2013 to 2016).
Willis is a former editor of Fabrications, the journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia New Zealand (SAHANZ), 2000–2003, and continues as a member of its editorial board.
[6] With colleagues Professor Naomi Stead, Dr Karen Burns, Dr Gill Matthewson and Justine Clark, Willis is a founding member of Parlour: women, equity architecture, a research-based advocacy organisation working for gender equity in Australian architecture.
[8][9] Published in 2012, this won the 2012 Australian Institute of Architects National Bates Smart Award for Architecture in the Media.
Julie Willis, Philip Goad, Cameron Logan, Architecture and the Modern Hospital: Nosokomeion to Hygeia (Routledge, 2018).