Associate Dean Kathryn Kennedy (left) congratulates Professor Ann Lousin as she receives the Leadership and Dedicated Service Award.
Professor Ann M. Lousin was honored at the June 3 commencement with the Leadership and Dedicated Service Award for her contributions during the past 40 years to The John Marshall Law School, the State of Illinois, the legal profession and the community.
A native Chicagoan, she studied at Grinnell College, The University of Heidelberg and The University of Chicago Law School. She was a research assistant at The Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention, where she assisted in the drafting of the 1970 Illinois Constitution. Between 1971 and 1975, she was a staff assistant to the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, including a term as Parliamentarian of the House.
During that time, she met Dr. Fred Herzog, who said she “had a formidable reputation as a lawyer” and should consider teaching law. When he became the dean of The John Marshall Law School, he offered her a position on the full-time faculty. During her more than 37 years at the law school, she has taught thousands of students, primarily as the principal instructor of Sales Transactions, and has served the law school faithfully and energetically in many ways.
Her interest in state government has led her to serve on public commissions, notably as chairman of the Illinois State Civil Service Commission. She also has lectured on public law and commercial law issues in both the United States and Europe.
Professor Lousin’s scholarship has earned her a national reputation. Her book, The Illinois State Constitution: a Reference Guide, is the leading study of that constitution, on which she is the acknowledged authority. Her award-winning column, “Law and Public Issues,” which deals with history, government and the law, appears in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. She is a regular commentator on the law in both local and national media.
She has contributed to the legal profession chiefly through her active participation in bar associations. She is a founding member of The Armenian Bar Association, of which she served as chair for three terms and which presented her with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Also in 2009, she became the first member of the John Marshall faculty to be elected a member of The American Law Institute.
She also has served the community with participation on charitable boards. Currently, she is the president of the Blind Service Association of Chicago.