Associated Students/Dr. John Irwin Memorial Scholarship

Associated Students
This scholarship award ($1,500.00) will be disbursed during the Fall 2026 semester. Students must be enrolled at least half time (6 units) during the Fall 2026 semester. AS student staff and Board of Directors working in any capacity during the period of disbursement are not eligible to apply.*

Dr. John Keith Irwin was a sociologist who earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and later completed his doctoral thesis at the University of California, Berkeley. He focused on his in-depth understanding of the statistics showing how education could greatly decrease recidivism in California and on the successful re-integration of formerly incarcerated individuals back into society. Dr. Irwin taught for many years in San Francisco State University’s Sociology Department, and in 1967 created Project Rebound, a special admissions program at SF State for the formerly incarcerated. In the early 1980s, Associated Students embraced this program and committed to funding it as an Associated Students program. Dr. Irwin’s life work was dedicated to the empowerment of individuals who had been negatively labeled and disenfranchised by the systemic use of political oppression in the form of incarceration, and this work is still going on with the help of SF State’s Associated Students.

As the author of many works centered on the issue of criminal justice in this country, Dr. Irwin was an intellect and humanitarian who never ceased to self-identify as a “convict” resulting from his years spent behind bars. Although Dr. John Irwin was able to leave the toils and tribulations of a life in prison, he never forgot the life lessons he learned or the individuals who taught him. Dr. Irwin passed in 2010 leaving behind a lifetime of accomplishments and an undeniable hope for the future. The scholarship in memory of Dr. John Keith Irwin shall assist individuals who have had dealings with the criminal justice system to redefine themselves using the right of higher education as their immediate means.

• Awarding Department: Associated Students
• Scholarship Intent: To provide awards to students who have shown exceptional leadership and promote the educational advancement of students at San Francisco State.

• Criteria:
  1) Applicants must submit a detailed statement outlining their academic achievements and community service involvement, accompanied by a letter of recommendation.
  2) Students must prove they were once on court mandated probation or parole, yet have transcended such monitoring and maintained good academic standing.

• Major: Any
• Class Level: HS Seniors, Undergrad: Any
• Enrollment Status: Any
• Enrollment Requirement: Undergrad: 6 UNITS
• Financial Need as determined by the FAFSA and/or CA Dream App: Not a Requirement
• Citizenship: Any
• GPA: HS GPA: 2.5; Undergrad GPA: 2.5

• Contact Person: Associated Students
• Campus Address: T-139, CCSC
• Street Address: 1650 Holloway Ave San Francisco, CA 94132
• Email: scholarships@asi.sfsu.edu
• Web page: https://asi.sfsu.edu/scholarships
• Number of Awards: 3