Richard St. Barbe Baker was born in Southampton, England in 1889. He immigrated to Canada and homesteaded on what is now the site of the Beaver Creek conservation area near Saskatoon, in 1909. He was one of the first 100 students to attend the University of Saskatchewan where, among other things, he operated the first student 'residence' in his barn on the campus, penned the University 'yell,' and initiated freshman John Diefenbaker. St. Barbe also attended Cauis College, Cambridge. He served during World War I, and was invalided in France in April 1918. Following the war, he worked briefly for the British Institute for Social Service, helping to establish the Ministry of Health. After completing forestry studies at Cambridge, he was appointed Assistant Conservator of Forests in Kenya where, in 1922, he founded the Men of the Trees, enlisting the help of 9000 voluntary tree planters in an attempt to arrest the invading Sahara. This society, which grew into an international organization, became the central cause of St. Barbe's life. He was called upon to advise several nations on forestry matters, and was active in promoting international cooperation in conservation. He published extensively, not only on forestry and trees but also on spiritual and religious topics and health matters. In recognition of his many accomplishments, the University of Saskatchewan conferred an honourary Doctor of Laws on St. Barbe in November 1971. In 1977, the Order of the British Empire was bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II. St. Barbe died on June 9, 1982 while on a visit to the University of Saskatchewan.

John William Tranter Spinks was born in Methwold, England 1 January 1908. He attended the King's College at the University of London, recieving both a BSc (1928) and PhD (1930) in Chemistry. Spinks joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1930 as Assistant Professor. He spent the 1933-34 academic year at the University of Darmstart, Germany, where he first met Dr. Gerhard Herzberg. Spinks was promoted to Professor (1938); named Head of the Department of Chemistry (1948); Dean of Graduate Studies (1949); and became the fourth President of the University (1959). Spinks led the university through its most active period of development. He retired from the presidency in 1974 but continued to pursue his academic interests. Spinks published more than 260 scientific fonds and larger works including a study for the Massey Commission, a translation of "Atomic Spectra and Molecular Spectra," "An Introduction to Radiation Chemistry," and an autobiography, "Two Blades of Grass." His many honours include a MBE (1943), LL.D (Carleton University, 1958), D.Sc. (Assumption University, 1961), Companion of the Order of Canada (1970), and a LL.D. from the University of Saskatchewan. He died in Saskatoon in 1997.

Michael Taft was born in New York City in 1947. He received his BA from State University of New York at Stony Brook (1968), MA from York University (1971), and PhD from Memorial University (1977). A folklorist, Dr. Taft taught at the University of Saskatchewan for the 1978-1979 academic year, and returned to campus in 1983-1984 to research and write an anecdotal history of the University. Dr. Taft was Head of the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. from 2002 to 2012.

Phebe Winifred Rowles was born at Manchester, England, on 28 July 1907. She was educated at Crandall, Manitoba, and Empress, Alberta, where the family homesteaded. She graduated from Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon and enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1926-1927, she competed in high jump at an inter-varsity meet, the first time that women had entered as a team. In other meets she competed in discus and javelin. Rowles was the jump centre on the basketball team. Rowles also was vice-president of the Student Representative Council and a member of the University Athletic Directorate and Women's Athletic Council. Rowles earned her BSc from the U of S in 1930. She was secretary to C.J. MacKenzie, Dean of Engineering, when he was consulting engineer on the construction of the Broadway Bridge. Rowles later worked in Winnipeg and Montreal before serving as Director of Women’s Personnel at the C.I.L. nylon plant in Kingston, Ontario. Phebe then joined Dorothy (Riches) Catto in operating Turkeys Deluxe at Dewittville, Quebec in the 1950s and 1960s. After two years as an official with the Vancouver YWCA, she retired to Saskatoon. Rowles was named to the U of S Athletic Wall of Fame in 1984 for her basketball and track and field exploits. She was involved with Knox Personal Theatre, Summer Players, the Dominion Drama Festival and the film “Paperback Hero.” Phebe and her sisters, Jessie Caldwell and Edith C. Rowles Simpson, were three of 100 Saskatonians honoured on the city’s 100th birthday. Rowles died 29 May 1995 in Saskatoon. The Phebe Rowles Scholarship recognizes academic achievement among U of S students pursuing a graduate degree program with a major in Political Studies.
Sister of Dr. Edith Rowles Simpson.

Christopher Hedley Bigland was born in Calgary on 15 October 1919. He received his first degree, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, from the University of Toronto in 1941. This was followed by a Doctor of Veterinary Public Health from the U of T in 1946 and a MSc. in physiology from the University of Alberta in 1960. Dr. Bigland became a member of the faculty of the U of S in 1964 with his appointment as Professor and Head of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology. In 1974 Dr Bigland became the first Director of VIDO and remained in that post until his retirement in 1984.

Dr. Arthur Moxon was born in Truro, Nova Scotia in 1881. He received a B.A. degree from Dalhousie University in 1906. He then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning both a B.A. in jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Common Laws degree. He was appointed Professor of Classics for the new University of Saskatchewan and moved to Saskatoon in 1909. Moxon was one of the original faculty members of the University of Saskatchewan. He became a Lecturer of Law in 1911 and was promoted to Professor of Law in 1913. He was Dean of the College of Law from 1919 to 1929. Moxon was named King’s Counsel in 1927. Moxon was with the law firm of McLean, Hollinrake and was Estates Manager of the National Trust Company before he became Dean of Law. He held many positions at the University and in community organizations. From 1934 to 1937, he served on the University Senate and, from 1937 to 1953, he was a member of the Board of Governors, serving as Chair for four of those years. In 1953, he received an honorary doctor of civil laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1961, the College of Law Alumni Association established a scholarship fund in his honour for post-graduate study. Moxon died in Saskatoon on June 12, 1963. At the time of his death, he was the University Solicitor.

James Burns ("Hamish") McGeachy was born in Kilmacolm, Scotland, in 1899 and emigrated to Canada with his parents in 1913. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating at the age of 19 with the Governor-General's Gold Medal. He was also awarded a Rhodes Scholarship but declined it, attending instead the University of Toronto, where he earned a his MA in 1929, and Princeton University, where he was a Proctor Fellow in modern history. He worked for the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix from 1922-1927, then served in various capacities over the next 12 years for the Sifton newspaper chain. During the Second World War he was chief correspondent for the BBC Overseas Service. After his return to Canada at the end of the war, he joined the Globe and Mail as a member of the editorial board, later becoming associate editor. From 1956 until his retirement in 1965, he was on the staff of the Financial Post. J.B. McGeachy died in Toronto on 27 August 1966.

Robert (Robin) Cecil Romer Maugham was born on May 17, 1916 in London, England to Viscount Frederic Herbert, a judge and Lord Chancellor of England, and Helen Mary Maugham (nee Romer). Originally trained in law at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Maugham gave up his career as a barrister after he was wounded while serving in the Western Desert campaign during World War Two. While recovering from his wounds, he wrote his first book, "Come to Dust," and decided to become a writer full-time. He was the author of novels, plays, film scripts and non-fiction books, including two books of reminiscences about his uncle, Somerset Maugham. Much of Maugham's work is related to themes of homosexuality. A new novel, "The Deserters", was in press at the time of his death. Maugham died on March 13, 1981 in Brighton, England after a long illness.

Dr. Helen Evans Reid, former Head of the Medical Publications Department of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, is the author of All Silent, All Damned : The Search for Issac Barr (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1969). Reid spent six years and travelled to various countries to carry out her research on Isaac Montgomery Barr. Barr, an Anglican Minister, organized a colony of middle class British immigrants to settle in the Lloydminster area.

Pitirim A. Sorokin was born in 1889 in Komi (province in Northern Russia) into a peasant family. During his early childhood he traveled with his father and two brothers earning their living by remodeling and painting rural churches. His strong interest in education, combined with a natural talent and work ethic, soon transformed him into a leading Russian social scientist and famous politician who was at the center of the Russian Revolution in 1917. In 1923, after his banishment by the Bolsheviks, Pitirim Sorokin started a new life in the United States. In less than 10 years the Russian émigré became a world-renowned sociologist and the founder of the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. Over 30 major books were published over a period of 50 years of active intellectual life. His ideas attracted the attention of Albert Einstein and Albert Schweitzer, Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy, political activists and yoga followers, military and peace proponents. At the time of his death in 1968 Pitirim Sorokin was one of the leading thinkers of the 20th century. (Biographical sketch provided by Pavel Krotov.)

Douglas Wilson was born in 1950 in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan. He received his Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan, with majors in Art and History. He taught public school in Makwa, Saskatchewan, in 1969-1970 and 1973-1974. He did post-graduate work in Educational Foundations at the University of Saskatchewan between 1974 and 1976. During this period, he worked as a sessional lecturer and supervisor of practice teaching for the College of Education.

While living in Saskatoon during the early 1970s, Wilson was actively and visibly involved in the gay liberation movement. He was instrumental in the organization and administration of groups such as the Zodiac Friendship Society (later the Gay Community Centre of Saskatoon) and the Saskatchewan Gay Coalition. The latter organization fought for the human rights of homosexuals in the province, and in the late 1970s, Wilson was the group's leading activist.

On September 22, 1975, Dean J. Kirkpatrick of the College of Education suspended Wilson's work as a supervisor of practice teaching in public schools, on the grounds of Wilson's open admission of his homosexuality and his public involvement in the gay liberation movement. A Committee to Defend Doug Wilson was formed to fight the university's action, and Wilson placed a formal complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. The inquiry was never held, as the Court of Queen's Bench ruled that sexuality was not covered by The Fair Employment Practices Act.

In 1978, Wilson became the Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Association on Human Rights, a position which he held until 1983. In 1983, he and his partner Peter McGehee moved to Toronto, Ontario where he worked for the Toronto Board of Education's Race Relations office. Wilson became the first openly gay candidate to run in a federal election, when he ran unsuccessfully as the NDP candidate for Rosedale in the 1988 election.

Wilson died in Toronto in 1992.