Denis Kigin

Second ASURA President

The following material is taken from A Decade of Success An Illustrated History of the Arizona State University Retirees Association by Dean Smith, edited by June P. Payne.

“Kigin, who had served as a member of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences faculty before becoming Dean of Summer Sessions and Extension, was one of the prime overs of the association in its early years. He presided at the May 14, 1992 board meeting at which chairpersons were named for the ASURA committees.”

Kigin oversaw a number of important issues during his presidency including:

• The creation of the Activities Committee which sponsored wine and chees party, estate planning program, the Verde Valley Railroad trips and the Canyon Lake steamboat trip.
• The inclusion of the Health Insurance Committee as a standing committee in the Bylaws. Dick Murra served as chair of this committee for many years.
• The efforts in contacting the legislature to have them not reduce the ASU budget, an effort requested by President Lattie Coor.
• The work on getting the legislature to approve a Cost of Living adjustment for retirees
• The work on getting the legislature to a agree to include retirees in the same pool as employees for health insurance.
• The launching of the Adopt-a-Family program

Denis was interviewed by ASURA's Video History Project team on July 12, 2002. Both the full interview and a short clip from the interview are available for on-line viewing.