Rob Leverty, Executive Director, of the Ontario Historical Society announces the OHS Alison Prentice Award:

Alison Prentice
Alison Prentice

The following letter, dated September 9, 2021, is from Rob Leverty of the Ontario Historical Society:

Dr. Alison Prentice (1934-2021) was a pioneer in women’s history in Canada. A renowned scholar and beloved teacher, Prentice specialized in the history of education in Canada as well as Canadian women’s history. Her work at the Ontario Institute for Educational Studies (OSIE) paved the way for future generations of scholars to focus on Canadian women’s history.

In 1990, the Ontario Historical Society (OHS) incorporated the Ontario Women’s History Network (OWHN) as a not-for-profit corporation under our Special Act,1899 and Alison Prentice was elected its Founding President. She was a founder of OWHN, which included both academics and classroom teachers as its members.

The OHS named one of its most popular award categories after Alison Prentice in 1998, the year she retired from her exceptional career in academia. The OHS Alison Prentice Award recognizes the best book on Canadian women’s history. This award is given annually recognizing outstanding work being done to further our collective understanding of women’s history in Canada, just as Alison did for so many decades.

I am very pleased to report that today the OHS established a new Alison Prentice Award Trust Fund. The annual investment income from this trust fund will be entirely dedicated to granting a cash prize to the winner of the OHS Alison Prentice Award. Like all OHS trust funds, such as the Dorothy Duncan Award Trust Fund, the Estate of Jean Burnet Cemetery Trust Fund or the Huguenot Society of Canada Award Trust Fund, it will be restricted to this purpose – the legacy of Dr. Alison Prentice and the capital will be protected.

If you would like to make a charitable donation to the new Alison Prentice Award Trust Fund you can either send an e-transfer to: payment@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca; pay by credit card (call 416-226-9011) or send a cheque payable to: Ontario Historical Society, 34 Parkview Avenue, Willowdale, Ontario M2N 3Y2. Please note: “Alison Prentice Award Trust Fund” for any payment method.

All donations over $10 will receive a tax receipt. The OHS is a registered charity annually submitting audited financial statements to the Canada Revenue Agency and a non-government, not-for-profit educational organization. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at:
rleverty@ontariohistoricalsociety.ca.

Yours sincerely,

Rob Leverty
Executive Director
Ontario Historical Society
34 Parkview Avenue,
Willowdale, ON
M2N 3Y2
416.226.9011
www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca