New Lundquist Fellow has impacted South Bend employment opportunities

Joray is more than an educator. His work has taken him out of the classroom and into board rooms and committee meetings where he has assisted government, schools, business and organizations throughout the South Bend community.

Joray’s work has had a direct impact on the community in creating and keeping jobs in the area. He, along with fellow professor Paul Kochanowski, wrote “The Economic Impact of Rail Termination on Northern Indiana” about the proposed reorganization of rail service in the Northeastern United States. As a result of the report, the branch rail lines remained to serve the city.

Joray and Kochanowski teamed up again to write about the positive economic impact of an ethanol plant. More than 800 jobs were brought to the city with New Energy Company of Indiana.

His work as an economics and business professor is well known by his students. He consistently gets high marks from students on his professionalism and knowledge.

Through his efforts, economic education is available to the community before students enroll in college. Joray, along with Kochanowski, are directors of the IUSB Center for Economic Education. The center was created to bring economics into the public and private schools’ curriculum and give to teachers the tools to accomplish the task. During a summer session, the teachers are team taught by Joray and Kochanowski about the world of economics.

Joray is known to the South Bend community for his intelligent remarks on the economy. He is the “answer man” for the media when business hits the front page. He does an average of 20 interviews per year to local and regional news outlets. He also served as a panel member of the IUSB Economics Briefings.

He has published in more than 30 journals and publications such as Indiana Business and Labor Studies Journal.

Joray has been a member of the faculty at IUSB for 30 years and served as dean of the School of Business and Economics for 17 years, stepping down in 1995 to concentrate on teaching and research. Through his work, the school received its first American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business accreditation in 1989. The school recently received its second accreditation under the leadership of Dean John Swanda. Nationally, only 20 percent of the schools of business receive this accreditation.

His work in the community began with his second year on campus. In 1973, he was named to the South Bend Development Advisory Committee. Later he worked with the Mayor’s Transportation Advisory Committee, Advisory Council on Employment and Training Programs, Manpower Area Planning Council, Junior Achievement of Michiana, Michiana Economics Club and the Finance Committee for Memorial Hospital.

Since 1973, Joray has been a member of the Ad Hoc Panel of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. In that capacity, he has served as a mediator and factfinder for more than 125 cases of labor dispute between teachers and school boards. He received a letter of commendation from former Gov. Evan Bayh’s office for his mediation work in the East Chicago school system.

Joray said he is honored to be added to the list of Lundquist winners. “I know every one (of the past winners) and I consider them my friends.”

Initiated in 1984, the Lundquist Award is named in honor of one of Elkhart’s best known natives, Eldon Lundquist. Lundquist was a sportscaster, public relations executive, hospital development officer, advertising executive, legislator and university administrator; he is best remembered for his service to the Indiana General Assembly from 1961 to 1976 where for more than a decade, as Senate Education Committee chairman, he left an unmistakable stamp on all major education legislation in the state. In 1976, Lundquist was appointed assistant to the president of IU, with an office at IUSB, where he served with distinction until his death in 1977.

The award is given annually to a faculty member who demonstrates outstanding accomplishments in teaching, scholarship and service to the South Bend community.