Research Profiles
Myriam Torres
Research focuses on fast-growing minority population
Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing minority population in the United States and the focus of the
University of South Carolina’s Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies.
The consortium, created in 2004, is part of the Arnold School of Public Health. The consortium promotes and coordinates interdisciplinary and transnational research on the experiences of Latinos in South Carolina and the Southeast.
‘Changing the characteristics’ of Latinos
“We used to think of Latinos in South Carolina only as migrant workers, and many of them were years ago,”
says Myriam Torres, director of the consortium. “But many are staying put now, and their families are joining them.
That’s changing the characteristics of the Latino population here and in countries such as Mexico that are
affected by their migration.”
A study conducted last year in cooperation with the Division of Research in the Moore School of Business revealed that Latinos, who number at least 140,000 in South Carolina, are spending large sums of their earnings in this state and sending substantial amounts to their native homes in Mexico and other countries.
Impact of Latino spending
“No one can say for sure, but it’s likely that some of the state’s extra revenues this year stem,
in part, from the impact of Latino spending here,” Torres says.
Torres and research initiatives director Elaine Lacy, a history professor at the University’s Aiken campus, work with 65 affiliated faculty and graduate students in many academic disciplines at the University. A memorandum of understanding with the University of Vera Cruz will bring one or two professors from that institution to South Carolina to continue their transnational research on Latino immigrants in the state.
Strong ties, future research
Torres and Lacy serve on many Latino community organizations and boards and have developed strong ties with the
state’s Latino community. Future research projects likely will focus on access issues to health care, the
emergence of tuberculosis in the Latino community, access to prenatal care for undocumented workers, and the
nature of Latino/African American relationships.
“In all of our research and presentations to communities across the state, we strive to be a neutral, fact-reporting entity,” Torres says. “We are not advocates of illegal immigration, but we do support immigration reform and a better understanding of the Latino culture in the United States.”
Myriam Torres is director of the University of South Carolina”s Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies
Photo: University Marketing and CommunicationsRelated Links
Arnold School of Public Health
Leader in research on health disparities, childhood obesity
Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies
Promotes and coordinates interdisciplinary and transnational research on the experiences of Latinos in South Carolina and the Southeast
