Gift from Alexander family sends the Campaign for Edison Community College over the top

The Campaign for Edison Community College, which supported construction of the Emerson Center on the Piqua main campus, met its more than $9-million goal with a $200,000 gift from the family of Cliff Alexander of Piqua.

Alexander, CEO and founder of Piqua’s 36-year old Crayex Corporation, said the gift promotes the growth of the region’s community college which, he said, is “one of the two or three most significant contributors to the economic health of our upper Miami Valley.”

The gift, he said, from him, his wife Joyce, son John, and daughter Mimi Crawford-- all of Piqua-- is consistent

with the family’s extremely high recognition of the value of learning and educational experiences.

Cliff Alexander is a member of the Piqua High School (PHS) class of 1952 and a graduate of Miami University in Oxford. Joyce is a member of the PHS class of 1955 and attended Ohio State University. John and Mimi, also PHS alumni, are Bowling Green and Miami grads, respectively.

Alexander said his granddaughter, Julia Crawford, is finishing her junior year at PHS while enrolled in the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program (PSEOP) at Edison.

“I’ve witnessed the marvelous growth of the college, which got off the ground at Spring Street School back in 1973,” he said. “Today, Edison’s beautiful campus and high quality programs combine with its affordability and accessibility to make the institution a real treasure here in west central Ohio.”

He added that Edison “enriches the lives of students of all ages” and enables individuals in west central Ohio “to fulfill their potential in their careers and in their personal lives.”

The Alexander gift to the campaign also represents the family’s continued commitment to expanding educational options for as many high school graduates as possible.

Nearly 25 years ago, Cliff Alexander and Duane Bachman, former superintendent of the Piqua School District, started the Piqua Education Foundation, which

raises funds for high school students who need financial assistance to attend college. The Foundation also reaches out to teachers who need support to help create new educational courses of study.

In 1978 Alexander launched a program which later became the Alexander Scholarship Fund to aid the sons and daughters of Crayex employees. This plan lends a hand to numerous students each year who attend Edison.

In addition, an annual gift of $3,000 from Crayex to the Edison “Holiday Evening” supports the Foundation’s general scholarship fund at the college and assists area students.

Alexander was a member of the first Edison Foundation board in 1995 and served six years as a Foundation trustee.

Many of the various college assistance programs in which Alexander has participated benefit Edison students who, without such aid, would not have been able to pursue higher education.

The gift from the Alexanders to the Edison campaign

earlier this year follows the completion of the family’s commitment to a special endowment program at Miami.