Aguilar MELANTZON, Ricardo 1947-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born September 16, 1947, in El Paso, TX; died of complications following a heart attack September 24, 2004, in El Paso, TX. Educator and author. Aguilar Melantzon was a professor of linguistics and languages at New Mexico State University. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1971 and 1972 respectively, he completed his Ph.D. in 1976 at the University of New Mexico. During the mid-1970s, he taught at the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Washington in Seattle. Returning to El Paso, he became an assistant to the vice president of academic affairs and director of Chicano studies at the university in 1977, rising to the position of full professor of Spanish and creative writing in 1990. That year, he joined New Mexico State University at Las Cruces as a professor, and from 1994 to 1997 was head of the languages and linguistics department and a member of the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center's board of directors. Known widely for his research into Chicano literature, Aguilar Melantzon also served as acting director of the Center for Latin-American and Border Studies from 2002 to 2003. He was honored in 2003 by being named Regents Professor as well as New Mexico Professor of the Year. As a scholar, Aguilar Melantzon was the author or editor of over a dozen publications, including Efrain Huerta (1984), Palabra nueva: Cuentos chicanos II (1987), José Fuentes Mares (1990), and Antologia del cuento chicano (1992). He also translated several books and was the author of the poetry collections Caravana enlutada (1975) and En son de lluvia (1980).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chronicle of Higher Education, November 5, 2004, p. A39.

ONLINE

El Paso Times Online, http://www.cgi.elpasotimes.com/ (September 25, 2004).

New Mexico State University Web site,http://www.nmsu.edu/ (September 24, 2004).

RoundUpNews.com,http://www.roundupnews.com/ (September 27, 2004).