News Release
June 19, 2008

Energy, telecommunications issues at forefront of UW Consumer Issues Conference

Organizers of the 2008 Consumer Issues Conference at the University of Wyoming hope to give power and a voice to the people by examining energy and telecommunications issues.

The 8th annual conference is Sept. 24-25 at UW with the theme “Focus on Energy and Telecommunications.”

“Both are so pervasive in our lives and becoming increasingly complicated and expensive with numerous confusing choices,” said Virginia Vincenti, a planner of the conference and a professor in the UW College of Agriculture’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. “Many people struggle to make decisions which address their own interests, while at the same time are socially responsible.”

  She said the conference will provide opportunities to understand issues from different perspectives, for attendees to talk with policymakers, lawyers, educators, government professionals and business people, and to create working relationships that extend beyond the conference.

“There will be many highly qualified speakers who will help to clarify the choices, pitfalls and actions consumers and others can take individually and collectively with some understanding of consequences of each,” Vincenti said.

This conference will focus on the demand side of the energy equation, including such things as marketing, pricing and energy conservation, said Dee Pridgen, another conference planner, who will also speak.  

“Communication is also essential to modern life, and it, too, has an impact on consumers’ lives,” said Pridgen, professor and associate dean of the UW College of Law. “Consumers are concerned about new technology, marketing, pricing and privacy with regard to telecommunications, and this conference will address those issues.”

New York Times reporter Felicity Barringer is a keynote speaker at the conference. Barringer was appointed national correspondent for the environment for The New York Times in September 2003. Previously, she had been United Nations bureau chief since February 2003 and a media reporter at The Times since April 1998.

Other speakers include: Eric Arnould, distinguished professor in the UW College of Business’s Department of Management and Marketing. He joined the UW faculty in fall 2007 to foster new initiatives in sustainable business practice; Tim Burkink is associate dean of the College of Business and Technology and professor of marketing at the University of Nebraska at Kearney; and Joel Kelsey is a federal and international affairs policy analyst for Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports. 

College of Engineering and Applied Science Assistant Professor and architectural engineer Tony Denzer, and Department of Family and Consumer Sciences Assistant Lecturer Treva Sprout, an interior designer, will team with university facilities planner and architect Linda Kiisk for a session on green building principles, building codes and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. 

“This conference is an extremely good value – high quality, reasonably priced, timely,” said Vincenti. “Sometimes, people feel helpless when confronted with such issues they believe they can’t have an impact, but the more we learn, the more we are likely to make responsible personal decisions and the more likely we are to become engaged in the democratic process of forming social policy.”

More information about the conference will be released as it becomes available. The Web site is http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/consumerconference/.

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Contact: Steven L. Miller, Senior Editor
Phone: (307) 766-6342
E-mail: slmiller@uwyo.edu
Archived News Site http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/UWAG/news.asp

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