Iordanis A. Tsolakidis

Jordanis Tsolakidis was born in Greece. He graduated from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After graduation, he worked as a sector manager at the Productive Works Service of Macedonia. He served in the Greek army as a second lieutenant and was later promoted to lieutenant during a special mobilization. In 1960, after successfully passing exams at the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY), he received a scholarship to study in the United States. He studied production and production management at Michigan State University, where he earned his Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. In 1964, he returned to Greece and worked in Athens as a coordinator for the FAO of the United Nations and the Ministry of Agriculture. He returned to the U.S. in 1966. In 1967, he was appointed as a researcher at Michigan State University, and in 1968, he was selected as a professor of production management at Saint Louis University in Missouri. In 1972, he was chosen as a university professor at Governors State University in Illinois, from which he retired in 1996. Today, he is a member of the University Foundation's board. During his tenure in Illinois (Chicago), he founded and managed several small and medium-sized businesses as an owner and president. He also worked as a business consultant and is a board member of a major Chicago company (Ferrite International). He served on his suburb's planning committee and as president of his parish's church committee. He is a founding member of the Macedonian Society of Chicago and a member of various national and professional associations and organizations. Dr. Tsolakidis has published scientific articles in Greek and English in professional journals and more than sixty articles in the Greek-American press. He currently resides in a suburb of Chicago, as well as in Clearwater Beach, Florida, and Thessaloniki. He is married with two children who have their own professional careers in Chicago.