On Friday, March 5th, Dr. Lila Valencia, a senior demographer at the Texas Demographic Center, spoke to students and faculty via Zoom about “Texas Demographic Shifts and Implications for Public Policy.” Dr. Valencia discussed the history and functions of the Texas Demographic Center which is the lead demographic center in the State of Texas and the primary liaison between the state and the Census bureau. Her talk focused on demographic trends in Texas and the major factors that influence population growth in the state. Her presentation covered details about the racial and ethnic composition of Texas and gave attendees insights into the different types of estimates and projections that the Texas Demographic Center makes upon requests from the public and private sector. Dr. Valencia concluded her talk by providing information about how students can request data and other entities can partner with the Texas Demographic Center on different projects of mutual interest. Her presentation generated several questions from the participants.
This event, which took place from 12:00-1:00 pm on the 5th, was the last of the three talks that were part of the MPA Program’s Lunch and Learn series for Spring 2021 and was attended not only by MPA students and faculty but by faculty and students from other departments including Geography and Sociology.
A copy of the slide deck used by her and various other resources pertaining to Texas Demographics can be found at this link https://demographics.texas.gov/.
