EVENT:  Fifty years after passage of the landmark Immigration & Nationality Act, an array of expert scholars, journalists, historians and lawyers will gather for a two-day conference at UCI to discuss the past, present and future of U.S. immigration policy – examining the shift from 1965’s inclusionary vision to the enforcement patterns of today. “Transforming Migrations: Beyond the 1965 Act” is the first in a wide-ranging series of symposia sponsored by UCI as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebration.

WHEN/WHERE:  Opening reception and journalists panel: 5:30-9:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies of Sciences & Engineering, 100 Academic Way, UCI (bldg. 80, grid C4 on campus map: http://communications.uci.edu//documents/pdf/UCI_14_map_campus_core.pdf)

Panels with lunch keynote: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, Doheny Beach meeting rooms, UCI Student Center (bldg. 113, grid E8 on campus map)

INFORMATION:  Media planning to attend should contact Brian Bell at 949-565-5533 or bpbell@uci.edu. Attendance and parking are complimentary for media who RSVP in advance.

HIGHLIGHTS:  Confirmed speakers include Lawrence Downes (The New York Times), Héctor Tobar (University of Oregon, formerly with the Los Angeles Times), Marcelo Suárez-Orozco (UCLA), Jennifer Chacón (UCI), David FitzGerald (UC San Diego), Roberto Gonzales (Harvard University), Marielena Hincapié (National Immigration Law Center), Daniel Kanstroom (Boston College), Erika Lee (University of Minnesota), Cecilia Menjívar (University of Kansas), Hiroshi Motomura (UCLA) and Ana E. Rosas (UCI).

UPCOMING:  Other topics covered in UCI’s 50th anniversary symposium series include modern architecture, climate change, creativity and the future of higher education. Here’s the schedule:

Oct. 28: “Science & Policy of Climate Change,” with a lecture by Nobel laureate Mario Molina
Feb. 24-25: “Engineering the Future,” presented by UCI faculty members of the National Academy of Engineering
Feb. 26: Summit on the Future of Higher Education on the Occasion of UC Irvine’s 50th Anniversary
April 18: “California Modern, Irvine Style: Campus Architecture, City Planning & the Legacy of William Pereira,” with a keynote address by architect and MacArthur Fellow Elizabeth Diller
May 2: School of Medicine Scientific Symposium, presented by UCI faculty members of the National Academy of Medicine
May 20-21: “Creativity, Cognition, Critique,” with a keynote address by N. Katherine Hayles, a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences