NEWS RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2008 FOR USE: Now CONTACT: Steve Quakenbush

SYMPOSIUM AT GCCC APRIL 11-12 TO FOCUS ON ECONOMICS OF IMMIGRATION

Students from at least eight Kansas and Colorado community colleges will converge at Garden City Community College April 11 and 12 for a symposium called The Economics of Immigration.

Organized by Garden City Community College Economics Instructor Chip Marcy, the symposium will offer an opportunity to focus on economic issues and learn from leaders in the field.

Keynote speakers include:

• Dr. James Ragan, Jr., former research economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

• Dr. Heather Luea, who served as a financial analyst with the Farm Credit Bank, as well as corporations ranging from Payless Shoe Source to Cessna Aircraft.

• Dolores Mesa-Lopez, a lifetime Garden City resident active in social issues connected to immigration.

In addition to students, there are political, community and business leaders participating from the Western Kansas office of U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University Extension, the Presbyterian Church of Leoti, the Mosaic organization in Garden City, the Finney County Economic Development Corporation, the Garden City Telegram, the GCCC Small Business Development Center, the Western Kansas Broadcast Center, Golden Plains Credit Union, the Finney County Commission and Garden City’s Unified School District 457.

“The real purpose is to cut through the political rhetoric and get down to the true impact of immigrant from the standpoint of economics,” Marcy said.

So far, approximately 70 students are registered from Cloud County, Coffeyville, Colby, Butler County, Garden City, Hutchinson and Pratt Community Colleges in Kansas, plus Lamar Community College in Colorado. Students from Kansas City Kansas and other community colleges may also attend, Marcy said.

SHARING EXPERIENCES

“The U.S. has a rich history of immigration,” Marcy explained. “Though the founding of our nation dates from 1776, Kansas has been part of France, Spain, Mexico and the U.S. over the same period. Today, the Kansas population includes significant Hispanic, German, Mennonite, Vietnamese and Scandinavian roots.”

He said the conference would explore whether each of the past and present contributing cultures shared the same economic experiences, and exerted the same economic impact on existing cultures as they arrived.

In addition to the guest presentations, students will participate in round table discussions on immigration-related economic issues. Faculty personnel and the visiting leaders will also take part in those segments.

The event will be the second such symposium hosted by GCCC. The first took place in 2006, drawing more than 50 students from 10 Kansas and Colorado campuses.

PUBLIC WELCOME AT GUEST LECTURES

Activities are scheduled April 11 and 12, with the initial speaker presentation by Ragan at 6:45 p.m. April 11 in GCCC’s Pauline Joyce Fine Arts Building, followed by a question-answer session and the opening round table discussion.

Programming April 12 includes guest lectures at 9:30 a.m. by Luea and 1:30 p.m. by Mesa-Lopez in the fine arts auditorium, followed by question-answer sessions. The second day will also involve round table discussions in various campus locations at 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.

The round table sessions and other activities are limited to conference registrants, but the three guest lectures are open to the public.

“We’re convinced our speakers will have some significant things to share, and we wanted to let people in the community and area share in their insight,” Marcy said.

Anyone interested in attending may pick up free advance tickets to the presentations March 25 and later at the GCCC Student and Community Services Center. Tickets are limited to four per request, but any still available at the time of the conference will be offered at the door.

Anyone with questions may reach Marcy at 620-275-3286.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Mesa-Lopez, a lifetime Garden City resident, is active in a number of community organizations, and has been involved in aiding immigrant families and others, as well as addressing social issues related to immigration.

The daughter of immigrants from Mexico, she has worked with and studies immigration law through Mexican American Ministries programs based in Garden City.

Ragan has served as a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and a visiting associate professor at Washington University of St. Louis. He also served 14 years as a department head in economics at Kansas State University, and previously as director of graduate studies.

His research has appeared in Review of Economics and Statistics, Economic Inquiry, Journal of Labor and Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Industrial and Labor Relations Review and Southern Economics Journal.

He earned his doctorate in 1975 at Washington University of St. Louis, and is co-author of a major economics textbook, Principles of Economics, Second Edition, published by Harcourt Brace. His work has been cited by U.S. News and World Report, Business Week and the Wall Street Journal.

Luea was recently chosen as an assistant professor of economics at Tennessee State University. She was also selected as a presenter at the 80^th annual conference of the Western Economic Association International, where she focused on housing costs, non-housing consumption and household debt.

She earned her doctorate at Kansas State University after completing her master’s degree in business administration at Wichita State University and her bachelor’s degree in finance at Fort Hays State University. She earned the Kappa Alpha Theta Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Carroll Greene Award. She was also nominated for the Stamey Teaching Award and the Professor of the Year Award.

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