Cornell, 1978
• 1977 Academic All-America® First Team
• 1978 Academic All-America® First Team
Joe Holland was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 1991.
As a high school senior, Joe Holland was recruited by many top college football programs. He chose to take an athletic scholarship to the University of Michigan. Holland had visions of the Rose Bowl going to play for the Wolverines, but once in Ann Arbor found it wasn’t the right fit. As the only player from New York, Holland said, “I found myself getting lost in the crowd because I was a good player, but I wasn’t head-over-heels so talented that I stood out in a crowd." Returning home to Cornell University in upstate New York, Holland sat-out his sophomore season, was injured as a junior, and played blocking back on the Big Red offense. As a graduate student in 1978, Holland truly shined. That season he finished second in the country in rushing and scoring, only behind Billy Sims, Oklahoma’s Heisman Trophy winner.
After graduation Holland was accepted at Harvard Law School. Holland was exposed to the issues of the Civil Rights movement and opted out of working at a corporate law firm. He opened a law practice in Harlem, where he hoped to make a difference. “When I was making the decision about how I wanted to start my career, I wanted to make my life count for something important. As God has blessed me, I wanted to reach out and bless others.”
In addition to a new law practice, Holland founded a homeless shelter. His HARKHOMES project is a means to restore the whole person. His small business initiative for former homeless persons, a Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Store, was featured in People Magazine. From all his work and dedication to the issue of homelessness, New York Governor George Pataki appointed him to the State Housing Commission in 1995 and 96.
Holland married Alisa White, a correspondent for “American Journal,” a television newsmagazine. They reside in Harlem with their daughter Shelby.