Myriam Elsa Torres, an expert on Latino immigration studies, will head a panel discussion of "Who are the Latinos in South Carolina?" on Wednesday, March 26 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration, room 309, at Coastal Carolina University. The talk is free and open to the public.

Torres, of the South Carolina Hispanic/Latino Health Coalition, will give a 45-minute talk about her work in the field of public health and the study she conducted in 2006 and early 2007 to develop a socio-economic profile of Hispanics living in the state. Among her findings is that immigrants from Latin America who live in South Carolina do not drain the state health care system as has been asserted.

Torres earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Colombia, a master's degree in public health from the Universidad de Antioquia, a master of science degree in public health; and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of South Carolina. She is a member of the board of directors of Acercamiento Hispano de Carolina del Sur and the Action Council for Cross-Cultural Mental health and Human Services.

Joining Torres in the program will be Mexican-born José Luis Mireles, who teaches Spanish at Coastal, and James Henderson, coordinator of Latin American studies at the university.

Sponsored by the Globalist Club, the panel discussion will include refreshments after the presentation. Call 349-2626 for more information.