With John Diefenbaker’s “Northern Vision Speech” in February 1958, Canadians turned their collective eyes north. It was now a Federal funding and policy priority. There was, however, a wide knowledge gap when compared to the Scandinavian countries and Russia. To fill this gap, the University of Saskatchewan established The Institute for Northern Studies in January 1960. Building on the decades of northern research, the U of S created a muli-disciplinary unit dedicated to research on the Subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. A special emphasis was placed on northern Saskatchewan. The Institute was to act as a focal point for northern research at the University, to encourage northern research by obtaining scholarship funds and grants, and to coordinate interdisciplinary research. In addition the Institute provided a lecture series which promoted understanding of the Canadian north; training programs which taught northern peoples new skills; cross-cultural courses for people working in the north; and a northern information service. A sample of the studies supported by the INS include political and social history of the Northwest Territories; biological investigations on forest vegetation, fungi, mammals, biting insects, birds; economic surveys of water transportation, mining, fishing, timber, furs; the geology of some mining camps, the geophysics of the earth's crust; engineering design of radio communication for remote areas. In 1981 it was announced that the Institute would be phased out over three years. The records of the INS can be found at the University of Saskatchewan Archives.

"The building is the first one, and for many years will occupy the place of honor, and even in later years, when the principal buildings have been built, its position is such that it deserves thorough study to develop the architectural possibilities." - David Brown to Walter Murray, 5 November 1909.

Designated as a provincial heritage property in 1982 and as a National Historic Site in 2001, the University's first building has long served as the architectural, intellectual and emotional cornerstone of the campus.

Designed by Brown and Vallance, the College Building was originally intended ultimately to house the College of Agriculture; but from the start, served numerous purposes. As early as April 1910, the floor plan included space for milk testing, butter making, cheese making, grain work; a gymnasium; several classrooms; offices for the Registrar, Dean of Agriculture, Director of Extension, and President; the original "faculty club"; laboratories; the library; and quarters for the janitor. After a sod-turning ceremony on 4 May 1910, the cornerstone was laid by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier on 29 July 1910. It was constructed between 1910-12 by Smith Bros. and Wilson general contractors. Completed in 1912, the building was officially opened by Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan on 1 May 1913.

The College Building serves as a memorial to much of the University's history: numerous plaques to individuals and organizations can be found in its interior, including memorial ribbons honouring members of the university community who served in the First World War. In 1997, the University created "Nobel Plaza" in front of the College Building, honouring two Nobel Laureates associated with the University: Gerhard Herzberg and Henry Taube.

As the University grew, the College Building gradually became the administrative centre for the University. By the 1950s, most of the original teaching facilities were taken over by new or expanded offices including those of the registrar, controller, alumni and news services, and presidential staff. The building became known as the Administration Building at this point, and later the "old Administration Building" to distinguish it from the new wing.

This expansion continued through the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with the appointment of a university secretary and vice-presidents. While Convocation Hall became too small for regular Convocation ceremonies by 1930, it maintained its original, broader function as a venue for concerts, meetings, lectures, and other events.

Parts of the building were declared to be unsafe in 1979, which led to the construction of the new wing of the Administration Building, opened in 1987. Most of the original building was closed, but Convocation Hall remained in use until 1997.

The building was reopened and officially rededicated as the College Building in September 2005 after a major rehabilitation project. The rehabilitation was reported to be "one of the largest heritage conservation projects in Canada - second only to the work being done on Parliament Hill." In addition to senior administrative offices and Convocation Hall, the College Building became home to the Museum of Antiquities and new gallery space for the University Art Collection.

Established around 1977, the SIAP offered opportunities for Aboriginal peoples to learn about and gain skills in the agricultural sector. The 4-H program in particular offered these learning experiences to Aboriginal youth on reserves, making Saskatchewan the only Canadian province to have a separate 4-H program for Aboriginal youth. Donor Les Ferguson acted for a long period as the full-time 4-H coordinator, supported by eight Agriculture Extension staff. Common youth projects included woodwork, foods, clothing, traditional arts and crafts, and firearm safety. The 4-H Garden Project, the 4-H Poultry Project, and the 4-H swine project were particularly popular. Approximately 100 4-H leaders would work with the program each year. Costs would be shared equally between the Indian 4-H Program and the families involved. The SIAP was also a major organizer of the Saskatchewan Indian Youth Conference.

"Greystone Secrets" was an interactive historical walking tour of the University of Saskatchewan campus that commemorated the struggles and victories throughout a vast history of sexual and gender diversity on campus. Through storytelling, historical exhibits, and a tour of the Saskatchewan Archives Board, the event aimed to provide a venue for inter-generational community building and to encourage local research on sexual and gender diversity. The event was free of charge, wheelchair accessible, and open to the public. The tours ran daily from October 4-6, 2013. As part of the tour, Greystone Secrets provided costumes and a professional photographer for tour participants to recreate the photo, "Nan & Hope & the 99 Year Old Kiss."

Prior to 1936, the University of Saskatchewan football team played its home games at Cairns Field on the corner of Avenue A (now Idylwyld Drive) and 25th Street. Athletic Director Joe Griffiths longed for a ‘‘home field’’ and had lobbied for its construction since his arrival on campus in 1919.

Merits of the project were debated back and forth but little progress was made. In 1935 a student- organized bowling tournament raised $275 and kick-started the process. Dean C.J. McKenzie of Engineering next seized the initiative by organizing and chairing the U of S Stadium Fund Association. The plan was to fund construction in stages with donations from “students, graduates, faculty and well-wishing business men of the community.” Architectural plans, supplied “gratis” by faculty of the College of Engineering, envisioned a structure costing $25,000 whose final stages would include a grand entrance, bus mall, dressing rooms, showers, etc.

The corner of College and Cumberland, site of the ill-fated 1912 City Hospital project, was chosen as the stadium location. Although tenders were initially called for, the University decided to build the project itself using primally student labour. With the Depression showing no signs of lifting, the University saw the stadium as a opportunity to give financial aid to several students who were in danger of having to discontinue their studies. Sod was turned May 17, 1936 and under the supervision of Professor A.R. Greig, Superintendent of Buildings, construction was carried out through the summer.

The first stage of the original Griffiths Stadium was officially opened 3 October, 1936 amid speeches, bands and a parade. In front of 2,000 fans, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies beat the Alberta Golden Bears 5-3.

Decades later, the widening of College Drive and the desire for a new stadium combined to fuel construction of today’s Griffiths Stadium, a few hundred metres east of the original site. It was officially opened 23 June, 1967. Improvements were made in 1988 to accommodate the Jeux Canada Games.

Hockey has been played at the University of Saskatchewan as long as there have been students to play it. In the early years both men and women braved the cold to play hockey on an outdoor rink situated just east of the Engineering Building. Built on the footprint of the original rink, Rutherford Rink was finished in 1929 and remains home to the Hockey Huskies. Whether their hockey has been played at the inter-collegiate or inter-mural level or in one of the regional leagues, students of the U of S have embraced Canada’s game and made it part of the student experience.

In 1910 the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture turned over to the University the responsibility for the development and delivery of agricultural and women's extension programs throughout the Province. To fulfill this mandate, the Department of Agricultural Extension (1910) and Women's Work (1913) were established within the College of Agriculture. Initially the activities of Agricultural Extension focused on services to the Agricultural Societies--short courses, institutes (meetings and conferences), plowing matches, field crop contests, stock judging, etc. Starting during the war years, a Better Farming Train toured the province providing lectures and demonstrations and presenting exhibits on matters pertaining to agriculture. In 1915 "educational holidays" or camps were initiated for farm boys and girls and in 1918 4-H clubs were formed throughout Saskatchewan. Farm and Home Week, a period of exhibits, lectures, and demonstrations at the University, was introduced in the early 1930s. Special projects and programmes for rural women were offered through Homemakers Clubs, established in 1911. In addition to basic domestic activities, women received advice and instruction in fruit growing, tree planting, home nursing, water supply and purity, libraries, health and welfare services, etc. Adult Education services, begun in 1938 in response to forces for social reconstruction, consisted in part of groups formed to discuss planning, economics, cooperatives, government institutions and policies, international affairs, trade unions, etc. This was a logical expansion of the variety of information (bulletins, leaflets), informal (lectures, demonstrations), public (testing, analyses), professional (training), and cultural (drama, music) services, as well as a variety of services to governments at all levels. In 1949 the work of Agricultural Extension and Women's Work were combined in the Department of Extension. It remained a department in the College of Agriculture until 1963 when administrative responsibility was transferred to the Office of the President and renamed the Extension Division. Since the 1970s non-degree programs were offered in the areas of agriculture and horticulture, women, business, languages, indigenous people, community development, liberal studies, arts, seniors, science and technology, career development, and adult education. The name changed again in 1979 to Division of Extension and Community Relations. It was changed back to Extension Division in 1990. The Extension Department was disestablished on 1 July 2007, and replaced with three new departments.

Extension work was begun at the University of Saskatchewan in 1910 when the Minister of Agriculture, Motherwell, W.R., sent his superintendent of fairs and institutes, Auld, F.H., to head the Extension Department. Through the support of the College of Agriculture and the Extension Department, rural men and women were reached with such events and activities as the Better Farming Train and the Homemakers' Clubs.

"An IBM 1620 computer was purchased in 1963 for the special university price of $89,120. Soon after, as well as the previous instructional and research uses, the administration began taking advantage of the Computation Centre, with the introduction of preparing payroll 'by IBM punched cards.'" Taken from: The First Decade of Computing at the U of S by Tim Hutchinson; published in On Campus News, v7, n7, 26 Nov. 1999.

The Bible of Borso d'Este is a two volume manuscript. The illuminated miniatures, work of Italian Taddeo Crivelli and others, were executed between 1455 and 1461.

Three string quartets bearing the name Amati have been based in Canada. Two separate Amati string quartets have performed on 17th-century instruments built by the Amati family of Italy, and owned by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. A third unrelated Amati String Quartet was based in Ontario, primarily Toronto, from 1985 to 2000. This first Amati String Quartet was founded in 1968 by Murray Adaskin and three other faculty members of the University of Saskatchewan: Norma Lee Bisha (second violin), Michael Bowie (viola), and Edward Bisha (cello). It gave its first concert on 2 February 1969. Later that same year, Robert Klose was named second violin and Norma Lee Bisha replaced Michael Bowie. The personnel remained stable until the group was supplanted in 1971 by the Canadian Arts Trio after fewer than 10 formal concerts. The quartet was too short-lived to develop a wide repertoire or a distinctive style. The University of Saskatchewan Amati Quartet in Residence was established in August 2003 and also played on the university’s Amati instruments. This quartet had previously been known as the Cole Quartet. The initial members were Marla Cole (1968-2017) first violin), Michael Swan (second violin), Geoff Cole (viola) and Linda Bardutz (cello). In 2004, Luke Henny became second violinist and Peter Hedlin replaced Bardutz as cellist. The Amati Quartet performs a yearly recital series, including a Thanksgiving Monday concert, and plays at various University of Saskatchewan events. It performed for Queen Elizabeth II in honour of Saskatchewan’s 100th anniversary in May 2005, and since its opening season has undertaken a project to perform all of Haydn’s string quartets. The Amati instruments at the University of Saskatchewan — one violin built in 1627, another violin built in 1637, the viola in 1607 and the cello in 1690 — are the only set in Canada built by the Amati family of Cremona. The viola’s back bears the painted crest of the Borghese family that commissioned it. All were purchased by Kindersley, Sask. collector Stephen Kolbinson (1888-1986) and sold to the university in 1959 for $20,000 on the condition that the university establish an Amati string quartet. The Canadian Arts Trio (active 1971–1975) — which comprised Robert Klose (violin), Edward Bisha (cello) and Robin Harrison (piano) — used two of the four Amati instruments owned by the university. The Amati instruments were lent to Victoria's Lafayette Quartet 1992-1998. They have also occasionally been played by members of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. The estimated value of the instruments is approximately $3 million (2020).