Fern Kaley Willits

Fern Kaley Willits
Alma mater	Pennsylvania State University
Known for	work on rural sociology, statistics
Awards	Distinguished Rural Sociologist, Excellence in Instruction
Scientific career
Fields	Rural sociology, statistics
Institutions	Pennsylvania State University
Thesis	An Exploratory Analysis of Individual and Social Level Meanings of Rurality  (1964)
Doctoral advisor	Robert C. Bealer

Fern "Bunny" Kaley Willits is an American rural sociologist and professor emerita at Pennsylvania State University known for research about rural women and youth. Willits has published over 70 academic papers and 14 books and she is recognised as a "distinguished rural sociologist" by the Rural Sociological Society.

Career

Willits graduated as valedictorian from Coraopolis High School in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania in 1954. She earned her Bachelor of Science at Penn State in 1958, her Master of Science in 1961, PhD in 1964 under rural sociologist Robert C. Bealer with a dissertation titled An Exploratory Analysis of Individual and Social Level Meanings of Rurality. She has been a professor at the institution since 1964. She has published over 70 academic papers and 14 books, book chapters, and conference proceedings.

She is known for writing about rural women and youth, as well as rural demographic statistical studies.

Research

Willits studies public perceptions of social issues and she has engaged in a study of individuals' attitudes over 50 years. Her study Women in the Rural Sociological Society: A History is cited by the Rural Sociological Society. She has collaborated with the sociologists Carolyn Sachs and Don A. Dillman. Her research has included rural health, family relationships, race, gender, outdoor recreation, the role of religion in rural life, and differing perceptions of rurality/urbanity. Her 1993 article "The Rural Mystique and Tourism Development: Data from Pennsylvania" published in 1993 in which ideas of ideal rurality are assessed indicating that the bucolic ideals are held by low income, elderly, and rural individuals. The article was cited by Irene Kirkpatrick and Morag Mitchell in their book Rural Tourism and Sustainable Business. Some of Willits' research includes Pennsylvanians' perceptions of fossil fuels. Her 2009 article "Nonfamily youths temporarily employed in agriculture" was published in the Monthly Labor Review by the Bureau of Statistics.

Awards

In 1988, Willits was given the Award for Excellence in Instruction by the Rural Sociological Society. In 1994, she was awarded the Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award. In 1995, she obtained the Penn State Alumni Association Teaching Fellow Award. In 1998, Willits was given the Award of Distinguished Rural Sociologist by the Rural Sociological Society. In 2019, the Dr. Fern "Bunny" Willits Graduate Award Endowment in Rural Sociology was established by two former statistics students to honor her contributions to the university and to the discipline of rural sociology, providing worthy Penn State candidates with $50,000 financial aid.

Selected publications

• Bealer, Robert C.; Willits, Fern K. (November 1961). "Rural Youth: A Case Study in the Rebelliousness of Adolescents". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 338 (1): 63–69. doi:10.1177/000271626133800108. S2CID 146691557.
• "Leveling of Attitudes in Mass Society: Rurality and Traditional Morality in America". ProQuest. January 1973.
• "Rurality and the Normative Order in a Developing Country". ProQuest. January 1975.
• Willits, F. K.; Bealer, R. C.; Crider, D. M. (1977). "Changes in individual attitudes toward traditional morality: a 24-year follow-up study". Journal of Gerontology. 32 (6): 681–688. doi:10.1093/geronj/32.6.681. PMID 915208.
• "Adolescent Activities and Adult Success and Happiness: Twenty Four Years Later". World Database of Happiness. January 1986.
• Willis, F.K.; Ghelfi, L.M.; Lipner, M.E. (1988). "Women in the Rural Sociological Society: a history". The Rural Sociologist (USA).

• Willits, Fern K.; Crider, Donald M. (1988). "Religion and Well-Being: Men and Women in the Middle Years". Review of Religious Research. 29 (3): 281–294. doi:10.2307/3511225. JSTOR 3511225.
• "Adolescent Behavior and Adult Success and Well-Being: "A 37-Year Panel Study"". ProQuest. September 1988.
• Willits, Fern K.; Bealer, Robert C.; Timbers, Vincent L. (2010). "Popular Images of "Rurality": Data from a Pennsylvania Survey". Rural Sociology. 55 (4): 559–578. doi:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1990.tb00697.x.
• Willits, Fern K. (1993). "The Rural Mystique and Tourism Development: Data from Pennsylvania". Journal of the Community Development Society. 24 (2): 159–174. doi:10.1080/15575339309489906.
• Willits, Fern K.; Luloff, A.E. (2010). "Urban Residents' Views of Rurality and Contacts with Rural Places". Rural Sociology. 60 (3): 454–466. doi:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1995.tb00583.x.
• "Gender and Ethnic Variations in Urban Park Preferences, Visitation, and Perceived Benefits" (PDF). NRPA.org. September 2005.
• Ryan, Andrea Kay; Willits, Fern K. (2007). "Family Ties, Physical Health, and Psychological Well-Being". Journal of Aging and Health. 19 (6): 907–920. doi:10.1177/0898264307308340. PMID 18165288. S2CID 6594745.
• Willits, Fern K.; Bealer, Robert C.; Timbers, Vincent L. (2010). "Popular Images of "Rurality": Data from a Pennsylvania Survey". Rural Sociology. 55 (4): 559–578. doi:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1990.tb00697.x.
• "Changes in Residents' Views of Natural Gas Drilling in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale, 2009–2012". ResearchGate. January 2013.
• Theodori, Gene L.; Willits, Fern K. (2019). "Rural and Small Town Residents and the Rural Mystique: Data from Texas". Rural Sociology. 84: 168–181. doi:10.1111/ruso.12227. S2CID 158497038.