The Department of Family Medicine came in existence in 1971 under the Deans Dr. John Gutelius (1970-1973) and Dr. Robert Murray (1973-1983). Dr. Louis Christ was the first Head of the Department of Family Medicine from 1971-1977. He later joined the Department of Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Christ died on 9 February 1983 in Saskatoon.

Originally known as the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization, VIDO was established at the University of Saskatchewan in 1975. VIDO is a research organization of the University of Saskatchewan that operates with financial support from the Government of Canada, the government of Saskatchewan, livestock industry councils and agencies, foundations and human and animal health companies. VIDO worked to find cures for common infectious diseases in cattle, swine and poultry. VIDO scientists carved out an international reputation for their pioneering work in the 1980's on vaccines aimed at combating shipping fever and a disease which produces pneumonia and arthritis in cattle. In addition to the 2,500,000 sq ft facility on campus, VIDO-InterVac also operates a 160-acre research station. The laboratory took on its current name, International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac), in March 2003. In October 2003 a large expansion was completed. In March 2004, VIDO received funding for the construction one of the world's largest and most advanced biosafety level 3 facilities, the International Vaccine Centre (InterVac), for research into emerging and reemerging human and animal diseases. In 2020, VIDO-InterVac began developing a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was established with a grant provided by the Devonian Group of Charitable Foundations of Calgary, and with supplementary funding from the provincial governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the University, and subsequently a great many livestock and poultry organizations. VIDO represented a new and unique model for funding practical goal-oriented research, and established an international reputation by developing several new vaccines to prevent neonatal diarrhea, or scours, in newborn calves (Vicogen, Ecostar, Ecostar 2RC); Haemophilus somnus infection of cattle (Somnu-Star and Somu-Star Ph); shipping fever pneumonia in cattle (Pneumo-Star); pneumonia in pigs (Pleuro-Star); and adenovirus infection in turkeys (Hevlan-TC). It also developed new management and disease prevention programs for cattle and swine. In 2003, VIDO changed its name and opened an expansion to its building that now provides 80,000 square feet of ultramodern laboratory space for a staff of 145 researchers. It uses the most modern research tools of genomics and bioinformatics to develop new vaccines and vaccine delivery technology.

Stephen Acres

Dr. Christopher Hedley Bigland was born in Calgary on 15 October 1919. He received his DVM from the University of Toronto in 1941. This was followed by a Doctor of Veterinary Public Health from the University of Toronto in 1946 and an MSc in physiology from the University of Alberta in 1960. Dr. Bigland became a member of the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan in 1964 with his appointment as Professor and Head of the Department of Veterinary Microbiology. In 1974 Dr. Bigland became the first Director of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) and remained in that post until his retirement in 1984. Dr. Bigland died in Saskatoon in 2005 at age 86.

The Virus Laboratory Building was constructed from 1947-1948, and was designed by the architectural firm of Webster and Gilbert. It was located on what is now a grassy area in front of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. The construction of the building was financed with proceeds from the sale of the equine encephalomyelitis vaccine. The disease equine encephalomyelitis, more commonly known as "sleeping sickness," first appeared in Saskatchewan in 1935. It recurred in 1937 and 1938, when it killed an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 horses. The vaccine was developed by Dr. Fulton in the late 1930s while he was still head of the Veterinary Sciences Department, and was first sold by the University in 1939. While commercial production companies in the United States were selling a similar vaccine for $1.80 per dosage, the University undersold them at 75 cents – which accounted for all the funding available for construction. Dr. Fulton also demonstrated that a human disease previously diagnosed as non-paralytic poliomyelitis was in fact caused by the same virus, at which time he produced a vaccine for humans. Demolition of the J.S. Fulton Virus Laboratory was completed in 1989.

Georgina Esther King was the first female student registered in the University of Saskatchewan. She graduated with a degree in English in 1913, the first year for students who completed their entire time at the U of S. The April 1913 Convocation issue of The Sheaf indicates Georgina was a member of the Glee Club, a councillor in the Arts and Science Literary Society Executive, and president of the Pente Kai Deka Society. The class prophecy: “Miss G.E. King, teacher of art, will give lessons in china painting at her studio on Tor Hill.” Georgina King was born 28 April 1887 near Regina, Northwest Territories on Tor Hill, the family farm on Boggy Creek. Georgina married Edmund Sears Mandeville (1887-1962) in 1916. Jean Gordon Bayer, assistant professor of English at the U of S, was a bridesmaid. Georgina met her husband who worked with the Regina Water System facilities located on the King property. Janet Frances Mandeville was born in 1917 and her siblings Esther Ridley Mandeville Hickey (1918-2008) and Malcolm King Mandeville (1920-1926) soon followed. The young family relocated to Florida in 1925 after Malcolm suffered a stroke and a physician recommended he find a milder climate. He visited British Columbia but found it too cold, and after eleven trips by train they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. In January 1926, Georgina and her three children went down to Coffee Pot Bayou and while wading got caught in the water. Janet and Esther were able to get out, but Georgina and Malcolm were pulled under and drowned. Janet almost went under going back into the water to retrieve her doll. The two sisters, age eight and seven, were found wandering in the area by workmen and taken home. The girls were reared by Georgina’s older sister, Janet Catherine King Estrich (1917-2001), and their father. Georgina and Malcolm are buried at Royal Palm South Cemetery, Saint Petersburg, Florida.

In the summer of 1914, the Canadian militia leased a part of the Sarcee (now Tsuu T'ina Nation) Indian Reserve as a prospective training site for military personnel. Sarcee Camp, as the site came to be known, was the only area in Alberta set aside to train soldiers for battle during World War I. More than 45,000 men from 30 units across the province trained at the camp over the course of the war. It was one of the largest military training areas in Canada at the time. Sarcee Camp was abandoned in 1998.