Graham Miller Simpson was born on December 21, 1931 in the New Zealand capital of Wellington. He earned a B.A.Sc. in Crop Science and M.A.Sc. in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry at Massey College, New Zealand before completing a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Wye College, University of London in 1959. He joined U of S Department of Crop Science in 1959 as a Post-Doctoral Fellow and rose through the ranks becoming a Full-Professor in 1970. Other appointments included Director of the Crop Development Centre, 1971-1974 and Director of the International Development Research Centre, Saskatoon Drought Project 1974-1982. Internationally known for his work on wild oats, the effects of drought conditions and seed dormancy in grasses, Simpson has a number of publications to his credit including the books Water Stress On Plants (1980) and Seed Dormancy in Grasses (1990). Dr. Simpson also maintains the Bibliography of Seed Dormancy which is a data base of 12,000 items covering material from the world literature on seed dormancy and germination from the 1890's to the present. In addition to serving on several departmental, college and university committees, Simpson was active in the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association and an advocate of world peace and international development. He retired in 1999 and was named Professor Emeritus, Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agriculture.

Ronald Norman George Marken was born 15 January 1939 at Camrose, Alberta. He earned his B.A. at Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota in 1960, attended Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul (1960-1962) and received both an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 1965 and 1972 respectively. Marken joined the English department at the University of Saskatchewan in 1966 as an instructor and was granted tenure as professor in 1980. He has served as Head of the department as well as acting head of the department of Native Studies. Marken has received a number of awards in recognition of his teaching prowess. In addition to literature and composition courses, Marken has taught modern drama and British poetry. He has published a number of poems, including collections entitled Cycles of Youth & Age and Dark Honey, articles and reviews pertaining to drama productions and monographs, edited The Easterner's Guide to Western Canada and co-authored 1919: The Love Letters of George and Adelaide, which was subsequently presented by Regina's Globe Theatre as "Dancing in Poppies" and "Flights of Angels" presented by Saskatoon's 25th Street Theatre. Marken has also presented a number of academic papers and popular addresses to audiences at home and abroad. As part of his academic duties, Marken has served on a variety of committees at the departmental, college and university level. He is an active member of a number of professional organizations is involved with several community groups.

Susan Alison Gingell was born at Shalford, England on 3 April 1951. A feminist and cross-cultural teacher, editor and critic, Gingell graduated from York University in 1971 (B.A.), Queen's University in 1974 (M.A.) and the University of Toronto in 1977 (Ph.D.). She joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1977 and having progressed through the ranks is a professor of English and of Women's and Gender Studies. Gingell is a member and executive member of several Canadian academic and professional organizations, the author of several articles, chapters in books, monographs and children's poems as well as the editor of a volume on E.J. Pratt.

John V. Hicks was born in London, England in 1907. His family emigrated to Canada and after brief stops in McAdam Junction, New Brunswick and Montreal lived in Wainwright and Edmonton before settling in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 1918. Hicks was educated at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute, where he lived and worked as a civil servant prior to a 1972 retirement devoted to music and writing. In addition to serving as organist and choirmaster at St. Alban's Cathedral for a number of years, Hicks has published more than a dozen books as well as prose and poetry in the best literary publications throughout North America. Hicks was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Literature by the University of Saskatchewan in 1987 and a Lifetime Award for Excellence in the Arts by the Saskatchewan Arts Board in 1990. He also holds an honorary fellowship from Emmanuel College, Saskatoon. He died in Prince Albert on 16 June 1999.

In 1971 Shoestring founders Dorothy Boerma, Lorna Cutting, Ann Newdigate Mills, Jo Shepherd and Betty Warnock "to come to terms with the lack of local exhibition space, the lack of communication with their fellow artists and the public and the lack of sales opportunity" rented two rooms above the Sally Shop on Second Avenue in Saskatoon and started their own gallery. It was operated as a cooperative, with all decisions being made by the group itself. Incorporated as a non-profit society in 1973, the gallery subsisted on grants from the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Canada Council, Department of Culture and Youth, Saskatchewan Sport Trust, etc. as well as membership dues and commissions on artists' sales. It is interesting to note that the gallery did not hire any staff until 1978. By 1981 there were a number of successful commercial galleries in Saskatoon. This led to the original mandate losing its validity and perpetual financial problems. In 1982 the Canada Council provided ongoing financial support for the gallery to be operated as "an alternative artist-run centre". To better reflect this new direction, the name was changed to A.K.A. Gallery.

Architect Clifford Wiens was born in Saskatchewan in 1926. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1954. In 1957 he became a registered architect in Saskatchewan, and set up practice in Regina under the firm name Clifford Wiens Architect Ltd. On September 5, 1970 the name of the firm was changed to Wiens and Associates Ltd. It became Wiens Johnstone Architects Ltd. from 1981 to 1986. From 1986 until 1995, he practiced as "Clifford Wiens Architect Ltd." Then moving to Vancouver he has continued to practice as "Clifford Wiens Architect". In 2010 he was given life membership in the Saskatchewan Association of Architects.

As an architect, Wiens created numerous public, private, residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and projects throughout Saskatchewan, including schools, houses, apartments, stores, campsites and picnic shelters, motels, churches, and heritage restoration projects. His work has earned several awards such as three Massey Awards Silver Medals in 1967 and 1970, two National Design Council of Canada Awards in 1967, and a City of Regina Heritage Award in 1983. In 2011 he received the award of the century for the design of the Heating and Cooling Plant at the University of Regina, known as the PRIX du XXe Siecle Award.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, an Associate Member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and formerly a registered architect in the United Kingdom (1975).

He taught architecture and design as a visiting professor at the University of Manitoba (1968), the University of Calgary (1977), and the University of British Columbia (1985), the University of Arizona (1990) and the Arizona State University (1995). He has also lectured at the University of Saskatchewan (1966-1967), and North Dakota State University (1970).

He has served on juries for various architectural competitions, and his work has been widely published in architectural journals and reference books. He was active in local and national professional organizations, serving the Saskatchewan Association of Architects as president (1970) and council member (1967-1973), the Regina Chapter of Architects as president and past president (1960-1969), and the Canada Department of Public Works as a member of the Advisory Committee on Art for Public Buildings, 1974-1981.

In 1981 Blaine Holmlund was appointed to a new administrative position: Vice-President (Special Projects). That office was responsible for initiating major projects; assisting Deans and faculty in implementing intercollege programs; preparing annual budget submissions and multi-year budget plans; campus-wide computer and communications services; the University Studies Group, physical plant operations, A-V services, college reviews, and student services. In his 10 December 1985 report to Council, President Leo Kristjanson noted that "because of a perceived uncertainty about the boundaries of responsibility indicated by the title VP Special Projects, the title has been changed to VP Planning and Development." The responsibilities of the office remained relatively unchanged. BA Holmlund continued as VP (Planning & Development) until his retirement from the University in 1991.

Born in Aylmer, Quebec in 1930, William Howard McConnell received his early eduction locally before moving across the Ottawa River to attend Carleton University. He earned his first degree, a B.A. in Philosophy, in 1955. Subsequent degrees include a B.C.L. from the University of New Brunswick in 1958, a M.A. in Political Science at Ottawa University in 1962, a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto in 1969 and a LL.M. in International Law from the University of Saskatchewan in 1970. Dr. McConnell was admitted to the New Brunswick Bar in 1958. From 1959-1963 he served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General's Department, NDHQ, Ottawa, Royal Canadian Air Force. McConnell's first academic appointment came in 1966 when he joined the faculty of the Department of Political Science at Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec. McConnell became a member of faculty in the University of Saskatchewan's College of Law in 1970, moving through the ranks to become a full Professor five years later. His academic speciality is constitutional law and federalism, in which he taught and was published widely. Dr. McConnell retired from the University of Saskatchewan in 1998.

Ruth May Pawson was born on 8 December 1908 in Stratford, Ontario. Moving west in 1912 her family settled in Regina which remained home until her death on 14 April 1994. Ruth attended the Regina Normal School in 1926-1927 beginning a teaching career that would last for the next four decades. In the 1930s and 40s Pawson took a series of art classes, receiving an Associate of Fine Arts Degree from Regina College (1940). She studied under Augustus Kenderdine at the Murray Point Summer School of Art at Emma Lake (1941, 1942 and 1946) and A.Y. Jackson at the Banff School of Fine Arts (1944, 1945 and 1947). Working primarily in oil and directly from nature, Pawson's favourite subject was the prairie landscape. From the 1940s to 1990s Pawson exhibited her work in a series of group and individual exhibitions. The naming of the Ruth Pawson School in Regina and receiving the Saskatchewan Order of Merit were among the many honours accorded her during her lifetime.