Laura L. Hollis, B.A., J.D.
Adjunct Lecturer, Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering
Associate Director, Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership

GE 498 - Entrepreneurship Lecture Series
GE 400 - Engineering Law

A native of Champaign, Illinois, Ms. Hollis received both her bachelor's degree in English and her law degree from the University of Notre Dame.  Immediately following her graduation from law school, she practiced law with Meyer Capel Law Offices in Champaign, Illinois, concentrating on general litigation and corporate intellectual property. Thereafter she served as General Counsel and Director of International Affairs for Copyright Management, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ms. Hollis spent nine years teaching law, first as a tenured Associate Professor of Law at the University of Detroit Mercy, and thereafter as a Visiting Professor of Law at Michigan State University.  Over the course of her academic career at those two institutions, she taught Corporate Law, the Law of Agency and Partnership, Civil Procedure, Federal Jurisdiction and Law and Literature.  In addition to her legal publications in the Temple Law Review, Cardozo Law Review and the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, Ms. Hollis was a freelance writer for The Detroit News and HOUR Detroit Magazine, and a frequent public speaker and communications consultant in the Detroit area.

Ms. Hollis came to the University of Illinois in 2000.  From 2000 - 2005, she served as Program Director for Network Coordination and Marketing for the Technology Entrepreneur Center, during which time she helped build TEC's entrepreneurial curriculum and outreach programs.  She was also instrumental in the creation and development of the University's i-emerging technology showcases on the Urbana and Chicago campuses in 2001 and 2002.

As Associate Director for the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Ms. Hollis is presently responsible for curriculum and other educational program development, including an undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship, courses, seminars and workshops for UIUC faculty, students and staff.  She also works with campus development and University of Illinois Foundation officers to create opportunities for University of Illinois alumni and other supporters to contribute to the growth of entrepreneurship education and regional economic development.

Ms. Hollis has received several awards for her teaching, including twice being selected as Professor of the Year at the University of Detroit Mercy, being honored by the student Moot Court organization for Outstanding Faculty Contribution, and receiving the James E. Barnes Award for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship at that institution.  Most recently, Ms. Hollis received the 2005 Gamma Epsilon Award for Excellence in Teaching in the department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (formerly General Engineering) here at the University of Illinois.

Ms. Hollis teaches GE 498 LLH - Entrepreneurship Lecture Series and GE 400 - Engineering Law in the department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering.  She is presently developing a course entitled, “Entrepreneurship, Economic Development and Public Policy,” and is working on a law review article exploring the relationship between enterprise liability, entrepreneurship, venture creation and economic growth.