Cambio Center News - August 2008

BOARD MEETING: The Cambio Center will  have an Executive Board Meeting, always open to all Cambio Center Fellows on August 21st from 11:30 am to 2:30.  Please let Christiane Quinn know if you plan to attend.  Lunch will be provided.

• Cambio de Colores 2009 News:  Multistate Efforts: Currently, the Cambio Center is coordinating with other institutions across the region, to pursue a first multi-state Cambio de Colores conference, “Latinos in the Heartland,” with the goal of sharing research, policies, and best practices.  The 2009 conference will be held May 18-20 in St. Louis. Please mark your calendars!
   
• Immigration Convening: The North Central Regional Center for Rural Development is organizing a  “North Central Knowledge Network on Immigration and Communities” convening to be held in Des Moines, IA on October 6-7, 2008. The focus will be on creating a network around research and providing an opportunity for people to interact with others doing similar kinds of work, thus building a representative base of participation.  The Cambio Center is partnering in this effort, and fellows are encouraged to attend. This will be the same network (covering 12 states from Kansas to Ohio) that will support the multi-state Cambio de Colores 2009 conference.  Details and registration information available at the Convening website.
   
• International Colloquium: Cambio Center fellow Domingo Martínez is organizing the International Colloquium “Regional Migrants in the Americas. Cases of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and the United States”, a Cambio Center international Strategic Initiatives project, in cooperation with Universidad de Buenos Aires, Universidad de Chile, and the Centro de Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos (CEMLA). September 8-9, 2008, Buenos Aires (More information coming soon.) The objective of the Colloquium is to network with researchers in Latin America working on migrant issues.
   
• New course for this Fall:  Cambio Center fellow Rebecca Martínez is offering “Chicana and Latina Identities in the U.S.” Discover how Chicana/Latina identities have developed in the United States. Issues include: immigration, transnational identity, popular culture, literary expression, body image, spirituality, assimilation, acculturation, and activism. (Flyer available.)

• Congratulations!: Cambio Center fellow Margie Sable has been named Director of the MU’s School of Social Work, after serving as interim director since September 2007.

In the News

The “¡Listo!” pilot research project for pre-schoolers, part of the Cambio Center’s Strategic Initiatives Program, started in July, 2008 and was featured in the local media.  Fellows Phil Peters and Mónica Marcos-Llinás are in charge of this effort:

• “Class targets Spanish-speaking preschoolers” - Columbia Daily Tribune, July 14th, 2008
• “Program Helps Language Transition” - KOMU TV News, July 21st, 2008 (includes video)

Publications of Interest

Recent Pew Hispanic Center Reports
(All available on line)

• Lagging Scores of English Language Learners Partly Explained By Their Concentration in Low-Performing Schools, New Report Finds
  The Role of Schools in the English Language Learner Achievement Gap

• Immigrant Latino Workers Hit Hard by Economic Slowdown, Pew Hispanic Center Report Finds
  Latino Labor Report, 2008: Construction Reverses Job Growth for Latinos
• Hispanics Support Obama over McCain for President by Nearly Three-to-One, Pew Hispanic Center Survey Finds
  2008 National Survey of Latinos: Hispanic Voter Attitudes