Activist, community leader and UW champion Frank Irigon dies at 77
Irigon, who has been a prominent activist since his time at the UW, is remembered for his passion for culture and community.
Frank Irigon
Francisco “Frank” Irigon, ’76, ’79, started at the UW as a student in the Educational Opportunity Program. He was serving in the ROTC and at the same time taking part in anti-war demonstrations. Called to civic engagement and social justice activism, Irigon found his way to the Asian Student Coalition and became the first Filipino American on the ASUW Board of Control. There he helped direct funding so that students of color had equitable resources for their programs.
He also focused his energies off campus, leading protests in 1972 against the Kingdome development that would adversely impact the Chinatown-International District. And he co-created a pan-Asian community newspaper, Asian Family Affair.
After college, Irigon co-founded and served as executive director for the International District Community Health Center. More recently, he served on boards that included the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Engagement, Friends of the EOP, the Multicultural Alumni Partnership and the UW Alumni Association Board of Trustees. Irigon died Sept. 12 at age 77.