Ball State University President Jo Ann M. Gora and two of the school's economists will address the state's economic outlook Dec. 7 at the ninth annual Indiana Economic Outlook luncheon. 

Gora will be the event's guest speaker. She will discuss how universities like Ball State can have a positive impact in the development of state and regional economies. 

Patrick Barkey, director of Economic and Policy Studies, and Gary Santoni, who retired as the George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Economics, will provide projections for Indiana's economy in 2005. Their forecast will be based on an analysis of various factors, including the federal deficit, energy costs, inflation and consumer spending as the American economy enters its fourth year of post-recession growth. 

Barkey and Santoni also will discuss the threats to and opportunities for the national, state and local economies. 

Serving as the moderator will be John Littler, president of Littler Diecast Corporation, an aluminum injection mold supply company. A founding member of the Ball State Business Forecasting Roundtable in 1998, he became chair in 2004. The roundtable brings together Muncie-area business leaders to share information about the local economy and make their own predictions about the national economy. 

The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Horizon Convention Center, 401 S. High St. 

For more information, contact Ball State's Bureau of Business Research at (765) 285-5926.