Professor of Economics Linda Loury died on Sept. 23 at her home in Brookline with her husband and two sons by her side. She was 59 and had been battling cancer for some time.
Loury was an "intellectual and moral pillar" of the Department of Economics for almost thirty years, according to Department of Economics Chair Enrico Spolaore. She joined Tufts in 1984 after earning her Ph.D. in economics in 1978 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.A. in economics in 1973 from Swarthmore College.
Loury was widely recognized for founding and conducting research during the late 1970s and early 1980s in the area of social economics, which, according to Spolaore, examines the role of social interactions and networks in economic outcomes.
"Now we know that those aspects are very important to economic outcomes, but it took some time and she was one of the very first to work on that," Spolaore said. "Linda Loury was one of the most influential, interesting and path−breaking scholars of her field."
Her innovative research and commitment to academic standards were major draws for incoming faculty, according to Professor of Economics Yannis Ioannides.
"When I visited the department before I was hired... I knew of her work," he said. "I just thought that Linda Loury was one of the greatest assets that the department had."
Ioannides and Loury later worked together, co−authoring a 2004 paper entitled "Job Information Networks, Neighborhood Effects and Inequality." The paper explores the role of social interactions and information networks in the job market and continues to be cited in other academic work, Ioannides claimed.
"The work was very well−received," he said. "It had an incredible effect and motivated people to go into this area."
Loury was also involved in the field of labor economics and created several courses in this area during her tenure at Tufts, including "Women in the Labor Market," "Income Inequality, Poverty and Economic Justice," "Topics in Non−Competitive Labor Markets" and "Blacks and Labor Markets."
The latter was based on ongoing research with her husband Glenn Loury, a Brown University professor of economics, according to Spolaore.
Senior Danny Weiner, who took Loury's course "Blacks and Labor Markets," said the class benefited from Loury's first−hand knowledge and passion for the subject.
"It was a fascinating course because we didn't use a textbook; we used her manuscript from a textbook she was writing with her husband," he said.
Weiner said he appreciated Loury's emphasis on understanding the broader context of the economic material.
"She was an extremely bright person but what I really liked about her, especially in an economics class, was that she was great at focusing on the interplay between economic social commentary and historical background," Weiner said.
Loury's personal connection to the field of social economics was evident in her research with students, according to senior T.J. McKenzie.
McKenzie and Loury last summer researched the effects of grandparents on human capital attainment, specifically education, on their grandchildren.
She was driven to investigate the topic by her own personal experience — her grandmother attended college, McKenzie said. Loury questioned whether her grandmother's college education had any affect on her own decision to pursue a Ph.D., according to McKenzie.
"It was a really compelling background in which to think about the research question," he said. "A lot of the work and preliminary preparation was driven by what was interesting about the question as it related to her personally."
Referred to by some economists as the "grandmother" of economic research on peer effects and social interactions, according to Ioannides, Loury was more than just a scholarly figure in the economics department.
"She was just an absolutely great person who cared about her students," Weiner said.
Matthew Johnson (LA '09) said he remembered her patience and ability to connect with students.
"I would come to her office hours and she would be patient with me and my hundreds of questions," he said in an email. "[She] was one the nicest professors I've ever had the privilege of meeting."
Every year, Loury and her husband would organize a Super Bowl party for members of the faculty, Spolaore said, which became a "landmark event" for the department over the years.
"She had very close links and friendships with people within and outside of the department," he said. "She will be missed by many people in the community."
The funeral will take place on Oct. 2 at the Bethel AME Church on Walk Hill Street in Boston and members of the Tufts community are welcome to attend. The wake will begin at 2 p.m. and the funeral service will follow at 3 p.m. A memorial service will take place at Tufts later this semester.
