Immigration is changing the face of communities throughout the South. In North Carolina, for example, the number of residents born in other countries grew 14.5 percent between 2000 and 2003, according to Census Bureau estimates.

This ongoing transformation is the subject of the Southern Conference on New Immigration Realities at UNCG March 21 and 22. The conference in the Multicultural Resource Center of Elliott University Center will bring together students, faculty, researchers and advocates for immigrants; provide a forum for sharing recent research; and promote future collaboration and research aimed at helping new immigrants.

Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of International Migration, UNCG’s Center for New North Carolinians in the School of Human Environmental Sciences, and the UNCG Department of Political Science are sponsoring the conference.

Dr. Elzbieta M. Gozdziak, research director at the Institute for the Study of International Migration, is the conference chair. The conference coordinator is Dr. H. Nolo Martínez, assistant director of outreach and research at the Center for New North Carolinians.

Martínez recently joined UNCG after advising two North Carolina governors on Hispanic/Latino affairs. Born in Puerto Rico, he earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics at Rutgers University and a doctorate in adult education at N.C. State. Gov. Jim Hunt appointed him the state’s first director of Hispanic/Latino affairs in 1998. He was reappointed by Gov. Mike Easley in 2001.

The conference will include a keynote speech by Dr. Gene Nichol, dean of the School of Law at UNC and president elect of The College of William and Mary. Nichol will speak about the challenges immigration poses for southern universities and how to apply our nation’s democratic principles during this demographic change.

Immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia will participate in the conference and share their views on identity development, education, work, human relations and other social realities. Armando Ortiz-Rocha, general consul of Mexico in the Carolinas, will share his views about the differences between Mexican immigrants in N.C. and those in the western U.S.

The full agenda for the conference is as follows:
Monday, March 21
• 9:15 a.m. – Welcome with Gozdziak and Dr. Raleigh Bailey, director of UNCG’s Center for New North Carolinians
• 9:30 a.m. – Opening Session with keynote speaker Gene Nichol, dean and Burton Craige Professor of Law at UNC School of Law
• 10-11 a.m. – “Identity Development and Socio-cultural Integration of Immigrant Children and Adolescents” with moderator Gozdziak
• 11-noon – “Legislative Challenges Facing Public Schools: How to Deal With Wave After Wave of Immigrant Children,” with panelists JB Buxton, Gov. Mike Easley’s education advisor, and Frances Hoch, N.C. Department of Public Instruction section chief for second languages, ESL, information and computer skills
• Noon-12:20 p.m. – “How Political ‘Modernizers and Traditionalists’ in N.C. See New Immigrants,” with Dr. Paul Luebke, associate professor in UNCG’s Department of Sociology and state representative
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. – Lunch; Presentation of Sister Gretchen’s Award by Dr. Laurie Sims, dean of UNCG’s School of Human Environmental Sciences; and showing of “Inclusion,” a video by Dr. Michael Frierson, associate professor in UNCG’s Department of Broadcasting and Cinema
• 1:30-2:30 – “The Immigrant Experience in North Carolina” roundtable discussions
• 2:30-3 p.m. – Networking
• 3-5 p.m. – Field trip to ethnic community organizations

o Greensboro Buddhist Center (faith-based service site)
o Glenwood Multicultural Library (special immigrant service library)
o Glenhaven Center (neighborhood multicultural immigrant service site)
• 3-5 p.m. – North Carolina Association of Professional Interpreters business meeting with Paul Ayivon, NCAPI chairperson

Tuesday, March 22
• 9-10:20 a.m. – “Reasons Immigrants Come to North Carolina” with panelists Dr. David Griffith, East Carolina University Department of Anthropology; Dr. Emilio Parrado, Duke University Department of Sociology; Bailey; and Dr. Art Murphy, UNCG Department of Anthropology
• 10:20-noon – “Dialogue about Mexican Immigrants” with Armando Ortiz-Rocha, consul general of Mexico for the Carolinas
• 1-3 p.m. – “Next Steps: Strategies for Future Studies” with moderators Bailey and Martínez
• 3:15 p.m. – Gathering of faculty working on Latino affairs in N.C. with moderator Martínez (session to be conducted in Spanish as desired)
– Gathering of faculty working on other immigrant research issues in N.C. with moderator Bailey (session to be conducted in English)