Directory

Lou Jean Fleron is the director of Workforce, Industry and Economic Development (WIED) at Cornell University ILR School.  Created as a new unit of ILR Outreach in 2005, WIED is a consolidation of ILR expertise on applied economics with faculty members in Buffalo, Ithaca, and New York City.  Its mission is to advance public economic policies and private sector practices that contribute to quality jobs, equitable opportunity, effective labor market systems, and successful workforce development.

WIED industry studies provide education, research and technical assistance on global challenges in diverse industries, including arts and entertainment, automobile, energy, biotechnology, agriculture, telecommunications, construction, and copper and brass.  Economic development initiatives focus on community-based high road development, business-labor-community collaboration, and international exchanges on comparative industry and regional development strategies.  WIED includes the Institute for Women and Work, an applied research and educational resource center examining issues of gender and work-life balance.
 

Lou Jean was the founder and director of Cornell ILR Institute for Industry Studies from 1985 until it was consolidated into WIED in 2005.  She served as the Director of the Western Region of Cornell University ILR from 1993 to 2003.  A member of the Cornell faculty since 1977, she was the Director of Labor Programs in the Western Region from 1977 to 1986.  Her teaching and research fields are economic development, industry education, public economic policy, and labor management relations.

Lou Jean is the author of numerous articles and studies on regional economic development, including the 2000 study, Champions @ Work: Employment, Workplace Practices and Labor-Management Relations in Western New York, and the 2006 Buffalo Child Care Means Business. She has served as Chair of the City of Buffalo Living Wage Commission since 2003.
 

Prior to her work with Cornell University, Lou Jean taught political science and political philosophy for fifteen years at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of Kentucky.  Born in western Kansas, she attended public school there, receiving her A.B. in political science and economics from Fort Hays Kansas State and her M.A. in government from Indiana University.

A resident of Buffalo since 1970, Lou Jean is involved in many civic, community and professional activities.  With six of her eight grandchildren growing up in Western New York, her commitment to a bright future for our community is both personal and professional.