Dr. Neil Hair

The department of Communication Colloquium Series presents a read headed double act on Tuesday at 4pm to 5pm in the Golisano Auditorium (70-1400) which should prove interesting to all with a view to virtual worlds. Sue Barnes and I will be presenting our initial research findings which explore students perceptions to teaching within the world and the methods that we used to gain notoriety! Come along and learn more about this new space and get a head start by avoiding the problems we faced.

Next Wednesday at the RIT Inn and Conference Centre I will be presenting key findings on the use of pro bono student led consultancy projects for local area clients. I'm very proud to say that my classes have now assisted over 100 companies on projects since November 2004. This has attracted the interest of the local Henrietta Chamber of Commerce and at a breakfast meeting (7am – 9am) together with clients and students present – we will be discussing our approach and what we have to offer in terms of partnership. This partnership remains the keystone of my instructional approach and time and time again students report it being the most effective means of communicating and illustrating contemporary marketing theory. I hope you'll join us!

Update: See a streaming version of my presentation HERE.

One quarter has just finished and the new just around the corner. I am particularly excited to be teaching the graduate level Marketing Concepts course online. This class will use cutting edge technology – namely the Adobe Connect platform to deliver streaming real time recordable audio visual presentations. The last time I taught it with these tools they proved extremely effective. The clients and students loved the way in which they could interact at a distance and yet remain in contact and perform consultancy tasks effectively. The nature of the course is similar to in-class formats. Namely, two research papers (looking at contemporary marketing issues like brand communities and the power of social networks as market research tools), a pro bono consultancy project for one of a number of local Rochester companies needing help with marketing plans, and the usual homeworks. Class is also portable – each lecture is available in MP3 format for on the go access. One other unique feature of class that helps differentiate those who take it. Its truly virtual. Students, clients and faculty never meet in person. That translates to an experience that should look good on any resume, the ability to manage virtual projects.