Ontario Tech mourns the loss of longtime donor and supporter Edith Alger
Her generosity and tireless advocacy had a lasting positive impact on numerous Oshawa-based organizations
August 13, 2024
Ontario Tech University is mourning the passing of Edith Alger, whose kind and unwavering support as a leading university benefactor throughout its first two decades has helped chart the university on its path to success.
Mrs. Alger was a lifelong Durham Region resident and community philanthropist who volunteered with, and financially supported, many non-profit organizations focused on advancing education, promoting the benefits of community philanthropy, and improving access to health care in Durham Region. Mrs. Alger is a former Chair of the Durham Community Foundation.
Her profound involvement with Ontario Tech can be traced back through the period prior to the university’s 2002 founding with her membership in the former Friends of UOIT (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) Committee and her association with the university’s Founding President Dr. Gary Polonsky.
She was previously a member of the Board of Governors at Durham College (1987 to 1992), and then continued to provide insight into partnerships between the college and new university as part of Dr. Polonsky’s President’s Advisory Committee.
Alger Family’s permanent legacy at Ontario Tech’s Charles Hall
The Alger Family name is synonymous with the City of Oshawa’s 20th-century business establishment. Alger Press Ltd. was started in the early 1930s by Ora Alger, later led by his son Stewart (a founding board member of Durham College), and then his son Bill. In 1946, Alger Press centralized its operations at 61 Charles Street in downtown Oshawa becoming one of Canada’s largest firms in the commercial printing industry.
In 2009, the university began retrofitting the historic building from an industrial complex into a modern post-secondary educational facility. Known today as Charles Hall, it’s now one of the key pieces of Ontario Tech’s infrastructure at the university’s downtown Oshawa location.
The main floor entranceway at Charles Hall is designated the Alger Family Lobby, where a giant 1950s-era 41-inch Admiral horizontal large-format camera is displayed as an iconic symbol of Alger Press in the main-level hallway.
The Alger Family was the university’s first non-corporate donor to surpass the $1 million level, a milestone that was achieved in 2004. This legacy continued with significant contributions to the Dixon-Alger Fireside Reading Room in the Library at the university’s north Oshawa location, and 40 Ontario Graduate Scholarships to support continuing education and research initiatives.
The Alger Family is holding a Celebration of Life on Tuesday August 20 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Durham College Whitby Campus, W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, 1604 Champlain Avenue. Please join with the family for a drop-in visit with friends to share memories.
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“On behalf of Ontario Tech University, I express our deepest condolences to Edith’s family and her many friends. Her generosity and the Alger Family’s unwavering support of the university throughout its foundational years form a legacy the broader Ontario Tech community is exceptionally grateful for.”
--James Barnett, Vice-President, Advancement, Ontario Tech University
