Kent Wong, former director of the UCLA Labor Center from 1991-2023 and professor of labor studies and Asian American studies, died Oct. 8. He was 69.

An esteemed community leader, Wong was renowned across Los Angeles and the nation for his labor and immigrant rights advocacy. As director of the UCLA Labor Center for 32 years—and more recently, its project director of labor and community partnerships—Wong cemented the center as a groundbreaking hub for research and leadership development programs that serve workers and immigrants.

His deep engagement with working-class communities across Los Angeles was matched by his prominence on UCLA’s campus. A key founder of the UCLA Labor Studies department, Wong anchored the major’s popular introductory course, teaching thousands of students over three decades. He also developed and co-taught “Nonviolence and Social Movements” with his longtime mentor, the late civil rights icon Rev. James Lawson, Jr. Over the course of his academic career, Wong authored and edited several books, including Asian American Workers Rising and Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom.

“Kent’s tireless leadership and dedication helped place UCLA at the forefront of community engagement, academic research, and a push for a worker-centered economy in Los Angeles,” said Abel Valenzuela Jr., dean of UCLA’s Division of Social Sciences. “Because of him, a community asset bears Rev. Lawson’s name in the heart of MacArthur Park. For generations to come, Kent’s legacy will continue to endure through this center as a profound reminder of our obligation to support research and policy solutions that advance economic justice for all.”

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