Never the Same Thing Twice with Peter Cunningham

The following interview comes from an episode of the same title from Can I Get a Retake?, a podcast by Great River Learning.

In this episode of Can I Get a Retake?, Michelle and Macayla interview Peter Cunningham, Lead Professor of economics at Mt. Hood Community College in Oregon. He has over 30 years of experience in economics and international trade and was the recipient of the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators, International Trade Educator of the Year Award in 2022.

Tell us about your background and how you came to be where you are now as an educator?

Cunningham: "I always knew I wanted to do something internationally, but it wasn't until I took my first intro?to international business course that I realized that trade and business economics is something that I really have a passion for and what I'd like to devote my career?to. So, for the first two thirds of my career, I worked in government, mostly state?government, federal government, helping US governors come up with effective trade policy?and economic policy to deal with the challenges of globalization...Then I started teaching part-time back in the mid 80s, which I also loved doing.?So, when I decided to retire from the politics and government it made sense for me [to become]?a tenured economics instructor for Mount Hood Community College.

Could you explain your role as a Trade Director?

Cunningham: "I started out as an international trade specialist...and that position was more working with companies, helping them identify markets for their products and services globally, and helping to create jobs in the various states that I worked in.?That was a really great sort of the foundation.?I got my first chance to work as a trade director for Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan.?I was working in Colorado as a trade specialist, and I had a chance to meet him. He had?just been elected and wanted to do more for job creation for Wyoming and felt that this?would be a great way to put some energy into trade development, helping small and medium?sized companies in Wyoming find markets globally...?It was a really interesting and exciting period of my career."?

What was that like to meet and interact with people from a lot of different countries and cultures??

Cunningham: "That's what really attracted me to the field of international trade and international business,?because there's so many variables, nothing is ever the same.?You have to learn about the different cultures in order to be successful in doing business?there.?In chapter two: The Trade Director Diaries, I talk about doing business in Japan and how you don't just arrive, meet your potential business?partner, sign a contract, and fly back home.?You have to build relationships and trust.?You have to go out and sing karaoke and have dinners...I had the same experience in Mexico...In Mexico there has to be willingness to work together and to get to know each other first before?we open the doors for business."

What was your key motivation to create your own digital materials??

Cunningham: "There were good materials out there, but what I found with the traditional publishers' model?was you write something and then four years later you do another edition, two years later?another edition, and you're always behind what's happening in your field. For example, during that time, Brexit was a hot issue in the UK, and was Britain going?to leave the EU?...What were the impacts of all that??It's a very hot issue.?There were no publications discussing this because it was so up to the minute...I thought this is a great idea for me to organize?the way I want and bring some current videos into the publication and also to be able to?change it as often as I need to, which I love.?I don't have to wait two years until the next publication deadline or edition to make?it work."

Do you feel like your teaching style has changed now that you have your own publications that?you’re using? Or do you feel like they're just an aid to what you were already doing??

Cunningham: "I'd say it's more the latter.?I've always been a Socratic method instructor.?Some of my students get freaked out by that because they're used to, in high school, having?their professors spoon feed them everything...My class is expected to do all that before you get to class.?Then we have really good discussions about what's happening in the current environment.?There's one exercise we do in macro where?I assign them a country and make them the economic czar.?You're in charge of the US of fiscal and monetary policy. First of all, who's in charge of fiscal policy for the US and who's in charge of monetary?policy??I created this video of a 747 showing what it takes to manage an economy.?We actually produced it together with GRL.?The students love that because if the plane's going too fast, you crash the economy.?If the plane's going too slow, you crash the economy.?We have four engines, two on each side of the wings to guide the economy.?They love that kind of analogy.?I have them jump in and they make advice to the political leadership of these various countries on what should be done or maybe congratulations for doing what you're doing.?They walk out of the class with a really clear understanding of how economics works.?It's hard to get people excited about economics.?It's typically viewed as the dismal science."

To hear more from the interview with Peter Cunningham, check out the podcast episode at grl.pub/podcast