Saint Dunstan’s University alumnus Allan Curran donates $6 million to UPEI
The University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to announce a $6-million donation from Allan Curran (SDU 1962, UPEI Honorary Degree 2017), of Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, to the Robertson Library and the Faculty of Medicine.
The largest single private donation in one day that UPEI has ever received, the funds will be divided, with $4 million for the Robertson Library’s $15-million “Love Our Library” revitalization campaign and $2 million for the Faculty of Medicine’s $10-million fundraising campaign.
“The education I received at SDU made me who I am and helped me to achieve the success I have had in my business life,” said Curran. “For generations, my family attended university in Prince Edward Island, and I am so proud to be able to give back to the school that gave me so much. Supporting the revitalization of the Robertson Library and the building of the Faculty of Medicine with this donation is my way of saying thank you.”
UPEI President and Vice-Chancellor Wendy Rodgers expressed the University’s gratitude to Curran for his generosity.
“On behalf of the University, I sincerely thank Allan Curran for his very generous donation to these two transformative projects that will each have enduring impacts, reflecting both existing and new core components of the University. The revitalization of the Robertson Library is essential to the success of students and faculty, supporting innovation in scholarship and research. The development of the Faculty of Medicine is critical to increasing access to health education and training, and cutting-edge health care on the Island and in the region.”
In recognition of Curran’s donation to the Library, the Archives and Special Collections area and the adjacent student learning commons will be named the “Curran Family Special Collections and Student Learning Commons.” As well, a space within the Library will be dedicated to Curran’s friend and SDU classmate Roger Labonte, who was killed in action in Vietnam in December 1966.
“Allan Curran has given the Robertson Library an amazing and transformational gift,” said University Librarian Donald Moses. “His generosity will have far-reaching benefits for UPEI students, faculty, staff, and the wider PEI community, and we are incredibly grateful for his foresight and support.”
Opened in 1975, the Robertson Library has served the campus community, the province, and a world-wide community of users for almost 50 years. Today, with access to over 1.6 million unique books, 130,000 journals, and 100,000 streaming media, the Library connects the campus to a world of information. It also offers information literacy skills training and unique learning opportunities, and support for Open Education Resources (OER), reducing barriers to learning and making education more affordable.
The Library revitalization project will include upgrading existing group and individual study spaces and renovating former storage space to create new study areas. The area that houses the Library’s Archives and Special Collections will be expanded and upgraded to ensure the preservation of and access to the province’s published heritage.
Curran’s donation of $2 million to the Faculty of Medicine will be recognized by the naming of the fifth-floor networking space in the new building in memory of his mother, Catherine Bernadette MacDonald who was originally from PEI. Under construction at the north end of the campus, the facility will house the UPEI Faculty of Medicine, a 10,000-patient Health PEI medical home, the UPEI Psychology Training Clinic, and a Clinical Learning Simulation Centre for internal and external group use. The first cohort of 20 medical students, all PEI residents, will begin their studies in the fall of 2025.
“We are very grateful that Allan Curran chose to attend Saint Dunstan’s and to this day has such an affinity to UPEI,” said Dr. Preston Smith, Dean of the UPEI Faculty of Medicine. “We thank him for his generous support of our medical school. His contribution will have a lasting impact on the future of health care in Prince Edward Island.”
About F. Allan Curran
Allan Curran is the recently retired president of Royal Products, a manufacturer of precision metalworking performance accessories based in Hauppauge, New York. A native of Brooklyn, NY but with strong roots on Prince Edward Island, he followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps by attending UPEI’s founding institution Saint Dunstan’s University in 1958 to study commerce. After graduating in 1962, he returned to New York to work full-time with his father at Royal Products where he gained hands-on understanding of the business. After being drafted in 1965, Mr. Curran served for two years in the US military, later returning to the family business where he eventually assumed the role of president after the passing of his father Robert Curran in 1968. A long-time member of the Association for Manufacturing Technology, he also chaired its Government Relations Committee. He is a caring, compassionate, and thoughtful business owner who is recognized for putting his staff and their welfare well above himself. Mr. Curran has a special place in his heart for PEI and is incredibly proud of his time spent both on the Island and at the University. He was a passionate supporter of the UPEI Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, establishing the Allan Curran Engineering Award for a third-year engineering student. In 2017, UPEI awarded him an honorary degree in recognition of his community service, business leadership, and support of UPEI.
