Ph.D. (Sociology) Virginia Tech, 1999; MA (Political Science) Virginia Tech, 1992; MSocSci (Journalism and Mass Communication) University of Tampere, Finland, 1991.

Professor Ollilainen teaches Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Classical Theory, Social Inequality, Sociology of Work, and Organizations in Society. Her research explores organizational restructuring and gendered processes in the workplace. She has published in Gender & Society, Economic and Industrial Democracy, and in the JAI series Research in the Sociology of Work. Currently, she is conducting a cross-cultural study of how work-family policies in academia in Finland and the U.S. affect the careers of women faculty.