SENATE MEMORIAL 37

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE MANY CONTRIBUTIONS OF DR. GEORGE I. SANCHEZ TO EDUCATION, BOTH IN NEW MEXICO AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND REQUESTING THE GOVERNOR TO PROCLAIM OCTOBER 4, 2013 AS "GEORGE I. SANCHEZ DAY" IN NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, Dr. George I. Sanchez was born in the Barelas community of Albuquerque on October 4, 1906, the son of an Arizona miner; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez graduated from Central high school, now known as Albuquerque high school, in 1922; and

     WHEREAS, at age seventeen, Dr. Sanchez began his teaching career at Yrisarri, New Mexico, traveling by horseback thirty-five miles to and from Albuquerque; and

     WHEREAS, at age nineteen, Dr. Sanchez became principal at Griegos-Candelarias consolidated schools in Bernalillo county, working there for another six years; and

     WHEREAS, from 1930-1933, Dr. Sanchez attended and later taught at the New Mexico normal school in Las Vegas, New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, at age twenty-three, Dr. Sanchez received his bachelor's degree from the university of New Mexico in 1930; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez completed his master's degree in education from the university of Texas at Austin in 1932; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez returned to work in New Mexico after getting his doctorate in philosophy from the university of California, Berkeley in 1934; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez then became a professor at the university of New Mexico, teaching there for about five years; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez went on to serve as director for the division of information and statistics in the New Mexico state department of public education for four years; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez was the president of the New Mexico education association for one term; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez in 1940 published a study of twenty-two villages in the Taos area and wrote about the educational neglect in northern New Mexico by federal, state and local authorities in a still-popular book, Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez wrote many excellent articles in the New Mexico School Review and other national journals and publications, advocating for a better education for all children; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez collaborated with many prominent university of New Mexico educators, such as President James Zimmerman; Simon Peter Nanninga, dean of the college of education; Loyd Tireman, education department chair; Professor Joaquin Ortega; Professor Arturo Campa; and many others; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez worked actively with the twelfth legislature of New Mexico on many educational policies; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez was a notable and distinguished scholar, educator, activist, pioneer and visionary in the early days of public education in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez, as a professor of education at the university of Texas at Austin, returned to New Mexico to study the Navajo country and to present papers in many institutions of higher learning; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez continued to contribute to education for all children nationally and internationally through his outstanding work at the university of Texas until his death in 1972; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Sanchez's educational legacy extends beyond the policies he helped to craft, as members of his family continue to pursue careers in education, including his granddaughter, Cindy Kennedy, a Santa Fe teacher; and

     WHEREAS, there are ten schools in Texas and three in California named after Dr. George I. Sanchez, but none in his home state of New Mexico;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the governor be requested to proclaim October 4, 2013 as "Dr. George I. Sanchez Day" in New Mexico to honor the work and life of Dr. Sanchez; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Dr. Sanchez be recognized for the seventeen years of dedicated service he gave to New Mexico, as well as his thirty-two years of service to Texas and the rest of the United States; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the family of Dr. Sanchez.

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