UPEI mourns the passing of honorary degree recipient and UPEI supporter F. Allan Curran
The University of Prince Edward Island extends its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of F. Allan Curran who passed away on February 19, 2026, at his home in Bay Shore, New York, at the age of 86.
A leader in the machine tool manufacturing industry, and previous owner of Royal Products, Curran was well-known as an entrepreneur, family man, advocate for UPEI, and a person who lived the mantra “service before self.”
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Curran had strong roots on Prince Edward Island. He followed in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps by attending Saint Dunstan’s University, one of UPEI’s two founding institutions, 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. He was a long-time member of the Association for Manufacturing Technology.
Curran 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.
In August 2024, Curran made the largest single private donation in one day that UPEI has ever received—$6 million in total to the Robertson Library and the Faculty of Medicine. The funds were divided, with $4 million for the Robertson Library’s “Love Our Library” $15 million revitalization campaign and $2 million for the Faculty of Medicine’s $10-million fundraising campaign. His very generous donation to these two transformative projects will each have enduring impacts, reflecting both existing and new core components of the University.
