ODEGAARD AWARD

4333 Brooklyn Ave NE Campus Box 359508 Seattle, WA 98195 Telling the Story of Diversity at the University of Washington

CHARLES E. ODEGAARD AWARD RECIPIENTS

2020 Emile Pitre 2019 Marvin Oliver 2018 Ricardo S. Martinez 2017 Joanne and Bruce Harrell 2016 Richard A. Jones 2015 Colleen Fukui-Sketchley 2014 Denny Hurtado 2013 Rogelio Riojas 2012 Gertrude Peoples 2011 Assunta Ng 2010 Nelson Del Rio 2009 W. Ron Allen 2008 1968 Black Student Union 2007 Alan T. Sugiyama 2006 Charles Mitchell 2005 Mike McGavick 2004 Jeff and Susan Brotman 2003 Herman McKinney 2002 Constance L. Proctor 2001 Ernest Dunston 2000 Vivian Lee 1999 Albert Black 1998 Bill Hilliard 1997 Andy Reynolds 1996 Hubert G. Locke 1995 Ron Moore 1994 Bernie Whitebear 1993 Ron Sims 1992 Sandra Madrid 1991 Ken Jacobsen 1990 Herman D. Lujan 1989 J. Ray Bowen 1988 Frank Byrdwell 1987 Andrew V. Smith 1986 Phyllis Kenney 1985 Norm Rice 1984 Nancy Weber 1983 William Irmscher 1982 Mark Cooper 1981 Millie Russell 1980 Minoru Masuda 1979 Toby Burton 1978 Vivian Kelly 1977 Sam and Joyce Kelly 1976 Leonie Piternick 1975 Larry Gossett 1974 Dalwyn Knight

Activist and Advocate Frank Irigon Honored With 2022 Odegaard Award

A social and civil rights activist shaped by his own experience and the racial and political unrest and activism of the 1960s, Frank Irigon, ’76, ’79, is the recipient of the 2022 Charles E. Odegaard Award.

Irigon was born in Fort McKinley in the Philippines in 1947. His family immigrated to the U.S. in 1950 to join his father, who was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. From there they traveled to Germany and then to Fort Lewis in Washington, where the senior Irigon finished out his active duty.

Enlisting in the Army after high school, Frank Irigon served from 1965 to 1968. He furthered his education on the G.I. Bill, starting at community colleges in Tacoma and Seattle and then finishing a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in social work at the University of Washington. His experiences during those tumultuous times shaped his political views and inspired him to be of service to all people pursuing the American dream.

While at the UW, he took part in anti-war and social justice activism and joined the Asian Student Coalition. “When I was a student, the things we did were for the community,” he says. “Today, students are working with the community. They are coming and asking what does the community need them to do.”

Irigon was the first Filipino American on the Associated Students of the University of Washington board of control and later he ran on a minority/feminist slate for higher ASUW office. He ran for second vice president and the slate won. His aim in becoming a student body leader was to help direct funding for student programs.

Interested in protecting culture and community, Irigon initiated and helped lead a major protest at the 1972 groundbreaking ceremony for the Kingdome. The students represented the larger community in the nearby Chinatown-International District who feared the stadium would harm the nearby fragile neighborhood, where resources and public services were already in short supply.

Irigon co-founded and developed content for the Asian Family Affair, the city’s first pan-Asian community newspaper, which was first produced out of the UW’s Ethnic Cultural Center. He also co-founded and served as executive director for the International District Community Health Center. Today, Irigon serves on the boards of the Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, the OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates—Greater Seattle Chapter, and the Asian and Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Engagement. Most recently, he has been out front drawing attention anti-Asian and Pacific Islander hate crimes. He is married to Felicita, whom he met at the UW, and they have three children and five grandchildren.

Established in 1973, the Odegaard Award honors individuals whose leadership in the community exemplifies the former UW president’s work on behalf

of diversity. It was President Odegaard’s response to student-led calls for equity in 1968 that led to a University-wide commitment to diversity and the establishment of what is now known as OMA&D. The Odegaard award is regarded as the highest achievement in diversity at the UW.

FRANK IRIGON

Frank Irigon will be honored at Celebration 2022. The dinner event, which also highlights student success, can be attended in person or online at 6 p.m., May 18 in the Husky Union Building. For more information, contact Daya Terry: wmnterry@uw.edu.