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Contact: Domingo Martínez, (573)882-4746, dmartinez@missouri.edu
Website: www.cambiodecolores.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 21, 2005 (SECOND PRESS RELEASE)

CAMBIO DE COLORES (CHANGE OF COLORS) 2005—LATINOS IN MISSOURI FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE: “CONNECTING RESEARCH TO POLICY AND PRACTICE: HOY Y MAÑANA”

Next week, from March 30 to April 1^st, 2005, between two and three hundred people will meet at the Reynolds Alumni Center in the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia, at the fourth “Cambio de Colores (Change of Colors) - Latinos in Missouri” annual conference, to deal with issues related to the current Latino immigration to Missouri and the Midwest. The goal of this conference is to contribute to the smooth integration of the new arrivals for the benefit of all the people in the state of Missouri, where the Latino population has more than doubled in the past fifteen years and is, by far, the fastest-growing demographic group. A state government study based on the 2000 census found that “Fifty-six of Missouri's 114 counties reported percentage increases from 1990 of over 100%.”

The main theme of year’s annual conference is “Connecting Research to Policy and Practice - Hoy y Mañana.”

Plenary visiting speakers will be Donald Hernández (SUNY-Albany), Michele Waslin (National Council of La Raza, Washington, D.C.), Miguel Carranza (UN-Lincoln), James Mireles (Principal, Garden City, Ks High School), Phil Hwang (Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, San Francisco, CA), Jim Corwin (Chief of Police, Kansas City, Mo), and María Giuriato (County of Monterey, Ca).

Other presenters are coming from all regions of Missouri, as well as the states of Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, and the country of Mexico. There will be around one hundred presentations organized in concurrent sessions.

There also will be a presentation by the Missouri Governor’s Commission of Hispanic Affairs.

Conference co-chairs are University of Missouri’s Stephen Jeanetta, Community Development State Extension Specialist, and Linda Espinosa, Professor at the College Of Education. The Executive Coordinator is Domingo Martínez Castilla, of MU’s Cambio Center. The conference planning committee includes more than thirty volunteers from Missouri’s state public and private institutions.

Special guests include Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman, UM System President Elson S. Floyd, MU Chancellor Brady Deaton, MU interim Provost Lori Franz, and other University of Missouri leaders.

Academic research and extension specialists, public and private service providers, grassroots organizations, state and local government institutions, politicians, and newcomers themselves are encouraged to attend.

Main sponsors are the University of Missouri System; the University of Missouri-Columbia Office of the Chancellor, Office of the Provost, Vice Provost for International Programs & Faculty Development, Cambio Center, Hispanic and Latin American Faculty & Staff Association (HLAFSA); University of Missouri Extension; and the program Alianzas.

Additional sponsorship has been received from US Bank, State Farm Insurance, the Kauffman Foundation, the Missouri Foundation for Health, Premium Standard Farms, Saint Louis University, and Mercy Health Plans of Missouri.

The full program is available at the conference website: www.cambiodecolores.org. To register, visit the website, or call toll-free: 1 (866) 682-6663; or (573) 882-4038. Walk-in participants will also be welcome to register at conference time.

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