you will find that being open to learning new things, regardless of subject matter, can be of great value to you in terms of understanding
Supporting Students and Colleagues Economics professor Dr. Koushik Ghosh said Hood created an “incredible web of relationships” in their department. She supported him as he worked to establish the department’s presence in western Washington and was always available for students. “Her presence and her pleasantness have been great comfort for students over decades,” Ghosh said. Hood helps students connect with advisors, re - search the job market, and apply for jobs. “She reaches out to everybody,” Carbaugh said. “Faculty, students, helps them in their lives, lis - tens to their ups and downs, helps them to come up with answers that they need.” Ghosh said Carbaugh helped him establish his research as a junior faculty member. The two co- chaired the economics department from 1999- 2012, and Ghosh said they often argued but always remained friends. “I was very ambitious, and Bob just wanted to make sure that my ambitions were going to go somewhere as a junior faculty, so he tested me always—but he never frustrated me,” he said. After 49 years in academia, Carbaugh said he’s a teacher at heart. But his research has helped thousands of students, too. His Contemporary Economics textbook is in its eighth edition, and he’s finishing Money and Banking: A Contemporary Approach . Hood often helps Carbaugh come up with clever section titles for his books. His students have also been collaborators, particularly for International Economics, which he first published in 1980. “I asked my students back in those days, ‘What do you want me to teach you guys?’ And they overwhelmingly said, ‘We want a class that’s very current, very applied to what’s going on right now,’” Carbaugh said. That textbook is now in its 18th edition and is used in economics courses around the nation. Navigating Change In his syllabi, Carbaugh advises students to be open to learning: “As you proceed through life,
what life and living are about.” Over the decades, Carbaugh and Hood have learned plenty of new things themselves. Recently, Hood started laughing when a colleague borrowed her “rickety old cart,” not realizing Hood formerly used it to haul A/V setups around the department. She’s watched multiple university systems transform from paper to digital. “I’m the generation that all of a sudden had a computer put in front of them, and you had to figure it out,” Hood said. “You just had to keep learning.” Carbaugh wrote the first draft of International Economics
Shirley Hood
on a yellow notepad and manual typewriter. By the time the latest edition came out this January, he’d been teaching virtual classes for almost two years. In between, he’s seen the advent of technologies that he believes make life more complex. “But in spite of all that, students are still students, and their basic needs are still their basic needs, and they appreciate personal contact with their professor,” he said. Enjoying Retirement As valuable as their work relationships have been, Hood and Carbaugh are looking forward to spending time with family in retirement. Hood has two grandchildren, and Carbaugh has 10. Travel, cookouts, gardening, and sports are also on the list. (She’s a diehard WSU Cougars fan; he loves the Zags, Seahawks, Mariners, and, of course, Wildcats.) Hood’s advice for whoever steps into their shoes at Central is simple: turn colleagues into friends. “Get to know the people you work with,” she said. “Take good care of them.”
“Get to know the people you work with. Take good care of them.” SHIRLEY HOOD
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