PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 23, No. 9, Nov. 6, 2003

Arnould splits retirement between Illinois, Florida

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
(217) 244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Photo by Bill Wiegand Still teaching Although Richard Arnould retired from the department of economics in January, he is teaching two classes on campus this semester. However, Arnould plans to spend the upcoming winter and spring months at the condominium he and his wife, Carol, own in Sanibel Island, Fla. In addition to teaching, Arnould is director of the Program in Health Economics, Management and Policy; is co-editing a journal; and is organizing a domestic health-economics organization.

Shortly after economics professor Richard Arnould officially retired in early January, he and his wife, Carol, joined the ranks of the “snowbirds,” those retirees who migrate to warmer climes for portions of the year. The Arnoulds fled the Illinois winter of early 2003 for the white sands and balmy breezes of Sanibel Island, Fla., where they own a condominium. They hope to make another sojourn there for the upcoming winter and spring.

But Richard Arnould returned to campus for the fall semester to do something he loves: teach. Arnould, whose specialty is health economics, is teaching courses in health economics and microeconomic theory this semester.

“We really have influence on people when we teach,” Arnould said. “There are great rewards when a student comes back and says, ‘Gee, you motivated me to study economics’ or if they go into business or law school and say, ‘Gee, I thought economics was a useless thing to take but it really did have some value.’ Motivating people about economics is an exciting thing. It’s really what turns me on.”

Arnould joined the Illinois faculty in 1967. During his career, he held appointments as head of the economics department, associate dean of the College of Commerce and Business Administration and director of the college’s Office of Research.

But after 35 years in teaching, research and administration, retirement began to look appealing, especially since Carol had been retired for several years from her interior design business and several of Arnould’s friends were retiring too.

“I clearly was going to step down from being department head,” Arnould said. “I’d had enough of the high pressure. Financially as well as emotionally it was the thing to do.”

Although Arnould may teach again during the fall 2004 semester, he has decided that one semester each year is sufficient, and during the rest of the year he plans to indulge his interests in golf and flower gardening.

Avid travelers, the Arnoulds have visited Europe several times and hope to take some type of trip next summer, although their destination is still undecided.

Before coming to Illinois, Arnould earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in economics at Iowa State University. In his research, Arnould examined the effects of government regulation on markets, including analyses of government-sponsored vaccine programs for children, auto safety-regulations and issues related to long-term care. An affiliate of the College of Medicine and the Institute for Government and Public Affairs, Arnould has been a consultant to various law firms and a local hospital, the American Hospital Association and the Illinois Bar Association among others. In 1974, the U.S. Department of Justice honored him with its Outstanding Service Award.

Still very active professionally despite his retirement, Arnould remains director of the Program in Health Economics, Management and Policy and co-editor of the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance.

In addition, he is founding a domestic health-economics organization under the auspices of the International Health Economics Association. The as-yet unnamed organization will be analogous to the professional organizations already in existence in Australia, Canada and Europe.

“There’s a huge demand for people to give papers and interact with one another on a domestic level,” Arnould said. “But many people can’t afford to go to Europe or Asia for the international association’s meetings very frequently. Our initial meeting probably will be in Madison, Wis., in 2006, and we anticipate having 800 to 1,000 people in attendance.”

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