UA’s C&IS Hosts Speakers to Discuss Strategic Planning

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences is hosting a series of speakers this semester to initiate a strategic planning process for the future of the College.

Three leaders and innovators in communication, media and information sciences will visit UA to provide groundwork for thinking about these plans.

Jerry Michalski, founder of REX, the Relationship Economy eXpedition, will speak on campus Feb. 12-13. His presentation is at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, in Reese Phifer Hall, room 216.

REX is a private, collaborative examination into the next economy, which was developed in the mid-1990’s after Michalski realized he disliked the word “consumer.”

He sought to discover different relationship dynamics between buyer-seller, business-government-social sector, science-religion, business-nature and more. He believes “the social changes that we are going through as a result of the new connectivity will be more profound than the structural and economic changes we have already seen.”

Prior to the development of REX, Michalski was managing editor of Esther Dyson’s monthly newsletter, Release 1.0, and co-host to Dyson’s annual conference, PC Forum. Michalski retired as managing editor in 1998 and became an independent consultant working as “sociate,” a term he developed to describe his skills for associating ideas with people.

Through the years, Michalski has worked with companies such as Best Buy, Havas Media and non-profits such as Environmental Defense Fund and the Institute for the Future. He also acts as a technology adviser for startups such as Ongig, Twine, CoTweet and Evernote. During the era of rapid Internet growth, Jerry was an adviser to eGroups (now YahooGroups) and Pyra (now Blogger, part of Google).

His work for these companies and his love for public speaking have made Michalski widely known in the media.

Michalski earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from UC Irvine. He was raised in Peru and Argentina and speaks fluent Spanish and German, as well as plausible French.

Michalski’s presentation is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis, as space is limited.

The College of Communication and Information Sciences has also confirmed speaking arrangements with Clifford A. Lynch, director of the Coalition for Networked Information, and Robert Picard, director of research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism in the department of politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford.

Lynch will be on campus Feb. 25-26. Picard will close the series March 2-4. Presentation details for these speakers will be released prior to their visits.