UNM-Valencia history professor receives Bloom Award from the Historical Society of New Mexico

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Dr. Richard Melzer

LOS LUNAS, NM (04/15/2013)(readMedia)-- Dr. Richard Melzer, professor of history at UNM-Valencia Campus, will be honored at a reception and awards banquet on Saturday, April 20th, by the Historical Society of New Mexico (HSNM) for his recent book on New Mexico's centennial.

The Historical Society has awarded Melzer the Lansing B. Bloom Award for his book entitled "Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico's Past: The Statehood Period, 1912-Present" that was published in 2012 in conjunction with New Mexico's centennial anniversary.

Melzer's book covers the first hundred years of New Mexico as a state. The Land of Enchantment could have become a state before 1912, but remained a territory for 62 years before finally becoming the 47th state in the Union.

Two other books in the series "Sunshine and Shadows" have also been written by Melzer. The first book covers the Spanish Colonial and Mexican Periods, 1540-1848, and the second covers the U.S. Territorial Period, 1848-1912.

All three volumes became an official New Mexico Centennial project.

"The competition was unusually competitive this year," wrote Nancy Owen Lewis, chair of the HSNM Awards Committee. "But given the range of important and timely topics addressed, this excellent volume was selected." She also noted the committee was impressed by Melzer's previous volumes as well.

Melzer will receive his award at the HSNM Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Convention Center in Las Cruces on April 20th. The banquet is being conducted as part of the 2013 Arizona-New Mexico Joint History Conference.