William “Bill” Allen was born in Bristol, England on May 9, 1892. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1911, setting up a homestead near Smiley, Saskatchewan. He joined the Army in 1916 and was wounded at the Somme, which resulted in the amputation of most of his left arm. After he was discharged from the armed forces in 1917, he enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan in the College of Agriculture. In 1922, he received his BSA from the University of Saskatchewan and went on to do graduate work at Harvard and Cornell, where he earned a PhD in Agricultural Economics in 1925. He married Gwendolen Woodward in 1926. He returned to the University of Saskatchewan and established the Department of Farm Management, of which he was Head until his resignation in 1938. During his time at the University, Allen directed a provincial soil survey in 1935 and was in charge of the first major debt survey of rural Saskatchewan in 1936. Allen was a member of the Provincial Milk Control Board, the Saskatchewan Land Utilization Board, the International Council of Agricultural Economists, and the Canadian Society of Technical Agriculturists. In 1938, he was appointed the first Agricultural Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom. During World War Two, Allen’s duties included keeping Britain supplied with Canadian food and to negotiate trade agreements covering the sale of Canada’s agricultural products to Britain. Allen was a passenger on the S.S. Nerissa when it was sunk by a torpedo off the west coast of Scotland on April 30, 1941. Allen was listed as missing and presumed dead. Allen is memorialized with a plaque in Convocation Hall on the University of Saskatchewan campus and an annual award in the College of Agriculture.

Leon Katz was born in Poland on August 9, 1909. His father immigrated to Canada in 1914 but, with the outbreak of World War I and the Russian Revolution, the family remained apart for six years before they were reunited in Toronto. While at Toronto's Central Technical School, Katz was recognized as a promising pupil and was encouraged to seek a university education. He enrolled in Electrical Engineering at Queen's University and earned both a B.Sc. (1934) and M.Sc. (1937). He received his PhD (1942) from the California Institute of Technology. From 1942 to 1946, Katz worked for Westinghouse (Pittsburgh), developing radar equipment for aircraft. In 1946, he accepted the position of Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Saskatchewan, was promoted to Professor in 1952, made founding director of the Accelerator Laboratory in 1964, and named Head of the Physics Department in 1965. In 1975, he left the U of S to become the Director of the Saskatchewan Science Council; he retired in 1976. Katz was an internationally recognized physicist, best known for his work in establishing the University's Linear Accelerator Laboratory. Among his many honours are the Order of Canada in 1973 and a D.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan in 1990. In 2000, a boardroom at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron was named in his honour. Katz died in March 2004.

Victor Edward Graham was born at Arundel, Quebec in July 1900. He came to Saskatchewan with his parents in 1914 and settled on a farm in the Swift Current area. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan in 1927 and a Master's (1930) and Ph.D. (1939) from the University of Wisconsin. Graham was first appointed an Instructor at the University of Saskatchewan in 1927. He became an Assistant Professor in 1930 and was promoted to Head of the Department of Dairy Science in 1939. In 1948, he was appointed Dean of the College of Agriculture and held the position until 1963. Graham was instrumental in the construction of the John Mitchell Building, which originally housed the dairy and food science department. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Graham was well-known for his work in dairy bacteriology. In addition to his academic work, Graham was also involved in a number of other organizations including the Saskatoon Exhibition (President, 1958-1959), Western Canadian Exhibition Association (President, 1959), Saskatoon Branch of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, Saskatoon Rotary Club, Saskatchewan 4-H Foundation, Canadian Society of Microbiologists, Saskatchewan Research Council, and the Saskatchewan Agricultural Research Foundation. He was made a Fellow of the Agricultural Institute of Canada in 1951. Graham died in Saskatoon on September 3, 1978.

James Bishop Harrington, born in Chicago in 1894, came to Canada in 1911 and settled on a homestead near Maple Creek. Four years later he started what was to become a distinguished academic career when he enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan. Though his studies were interrupted by war service, he received his B.Sc. in Agriculture in 1920. Harrington continued with graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. By 1924 he had a MSc, a Ph.D. and an appointment as Assistant Professor in Field Husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan. From 1950 to 1956 served as head of his department. During his years at the U of S, Harrington built an international reputation as a plant breeder; among the better known crop varieties he developed are Apex wheat, Fortune oats, Husky barley, Royal flax and Antelope rye. In 1949 Dr. Harrington's attention turned to the agricultural problems of the third world. In 1949-1950 he worked in Egypt as consultant to the Ministry of Agriculture, and in 1952 went to India to work on rice breeding for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. After resigning from the U of S in 1956, Harrington continued as a consultant with the FAO in the Middle East. Harrington was a founding member of the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrology and served as president of the Agriculture Institute of Canada. The Order of Canada, Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and a LLD from the U of S are but a few of the many honours given to Dr. Harrington during his life. He died in Ontario at the age of 85.

Carlyle Albert King was born on November 25, 1907 at Cooksville, Ontario. His family moved to Saskatchewan around 1912. By 1926, King had earned a BA at the University of Saskatchewan; a year later he received an MA from the University of Toronto. King spent the 1927-28 academic year studying at the University of London before returning to Toronto, where he was granted a PhD in 1931. In 1929, he joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan as an Instructor in English. He was named full Professor in 1949. In 1950, he became Head of the English Department, a position he held until 1964. In addition, King held several concurrent academic assignments: chair of the Evening Class Committee (1947-1963); chair of the Scholarships Committee (1952-1959); Director of Summer School (appointment 1959); and Dean of Summer Sessions and Correspondence Courses (1964). He was appointed Dean of Academic Services in 1967, Vice-Principal of the Saskatoon Campus in 1971, and Vice-President (Acting) in 1974. During his academic career, King pioneered the teaching of American and Canadian literature, studied the works of George Bernard Shaw and Joseph Conrad, and wrote on the history of the University of Saskatchewan. King retired in June 1975. King also held several executive positions with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and was actively involved in a number of community organizations. King was a member of the Saskatchewan Arts Board, a member and Chairman of the Saskatoon Art Centre, and a director of the Saskatoon Music Festival Association. King was appointed to the Saskatoon Public Library Board in 1955 and was Chairman of the Board from 1958 to 1972. In addition to the Saskatoon Public Library Board, King was president of the Saskatchewan Library Association, Chairman of the Saskatchewan Library Advisory Council, and a member of the Canadian Library Trustees’ Association. King died in Regina on March 19, 1988.

Chalmers Jack Mackenzie, the first Dean of the University of Saskatchewan College of Engineering, rose to national and international prominence as the man who guided Canada's atomic research during World War II. Mackenzie, who came to be known as the dean of Canadian scientists and was once described as "contributing more to the advancement of science and learning, and to the welfare of Canada through science, than any other living Canadian," was born July 10, 1888 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. He graduated in engineering from Dalhousie University in 1909, and first joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1912 as a sessional lecturer in civil engineering. He earned his MSc. in Engineering from Harvard in 1915. During World War I, he served with the 54th Battalion CEF. Mackenzie returned to the University of Saskatchewan as a Professor; in 1921, when the School of Engineering became a College, he was appointed Dean. Mackenzie left the University of Saskatchewan in 1939 to join the National Research Council (NRC). He stepped down as president of the NRC in 1952, accepting the post of president of the newly formed Atomic Energy of Canada, where he stayed for one year. In 1963, he was appointed Special Advisor to the Government of Canada on the organization of government scientific activities. Mackenzie was awarded 20 honorary degrees from Canada, the United States, Europe, and Africa. In 1975, the College of Engineering established the C.J. Mackenzie Chair in his honour. Dr. Mackenzie died on February 26, 1984 at the age of 95.

Gordon Aylmer McMurray was born in Lennoxville, Quebec, on October 19, 1913. He received both his BA (1933) and MA (1935) from Bishop's University and taught high school at various locations in Quebec. During World War II, Dr. McMurray served with the RCAF. Following the war, he continued his postgraduate studies at McGill, earning a PhD. in 1949. He joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Saskatchewan in 1949 as Assistant Professor, and became Head of the Department in 1950, a position which he held until 1970. He was promoted to Full Professor in 1956. He also served on the grants committees for both the NRC and the Canada Council, was named President of the Canadian Psychological Association in 1963 and was elected a Fellow of the CPA in 1968. Dr. McMurray died on August 16, 2003 in Quebec.

Margaret H. Pattillo was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, on 27 June 1916. She received her teacher's certificate from the Nova Scotia Normal School, then enrolled in Acadia University, obtaining her B.Sc. (Home Economics) in 1938. Following her service with the RCAF Women's Division during World War II, Professor Pattillo joined the University of Saskatchewan (1946) as Instructor in the Department of Women's Work. She earned her MSc. H.Ec. from Michigan State University in 1951 and was promoted to Assistant Professor (1951) and Associate Professor (1957). She held various positions, including serving as Executive Director of Saskatchewan Association of Homemakers' Clubs/Women's Institutes. In 1979 the Canadian Society of Extension presented her with an Honourary Life Membership in the Society for her distinguished service to Extension Education, and she was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame on 12 August 1990. Professor Pattillo retired from the University in 1981, and died on 12 October 1990 at the age of 74.

Leslie Gale Saunders was born December 3, 1895 in London, England. He attended Highgate Grammar School but before completing London Matriculation emigrated to Canada at the age of 16. He had been sent to Nova Scotia by his father to investigate fruit growing possibilities and subsequently entered the Truro Agricultural College. It was while at Truro that Saunders first became interested in entomology. In January 1919, he was permitted, despite his failure to matriculate, to attend Macdonald College at McGill University. By 1921, Saunders had completed both a B.Sc. and M.Sc. and was awarded the "1851 Exhibition Scholarship". This allowed him to enter the Molteno Institute for Medical Parasitology at Cambridge. In 1923, while at Cambridge, he was invited to join a private expedition to Brazil. He was granted a Ph.D. in 1924 and then joined the staff of the U of S the following year where he was assigned to teach invertebrate zoology, entomology and parasitology. By 1927, Dr. Saunders was able to spend the summer at the Pacific Biological Station at Departure Bay on Vancouver Island. Because of budget restraints, all bachelors on staff at the University of Saskatchewan were asked in 1932 to take a year off with three months salary. Saunders was able to secure a teaching job at Hong Kong University for the fall session. The new year found him in Singapore where he met a fisheries official who asked Saunders to join him on a 1300-mile tour inland. He returned to Departure Bay for the summer and then was off on a round the world tour that took him to Canton, Macao and a trip along the northern edge of Borneo, upriver to Sarawa. Before he returned to Saskatoon he spent time in Ceylon, the Near East and England. In 1943, Dr. Saunders went to Central America and carried out a study of tropical diseases for the United States government. In 1956, he went first to Costa Rica and then to the Philippines to study cocao plants and the midges that pollinate them. He retired in 1961 and was named Professor Emeritus. One more trip, this time to Ghana, came before he settled in Victoria where he lived until his death in 1968. While Dr. Saunders built a solid reputation as a biologist, his work as a photographer brought him much praise and acclaim. He was elected Associate of the Royal
Photographic Society of London and had work displayed in leading galleries in Canada, the United States and Great Britain.

John Childs Courtney was born on 4 October 1936 in Regina. He earned a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1958, an M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1960 and both an M.A. (1962) and Ph.D. (1964) from Duke University. Dr. Courtney held the position of Assistant Professor at Brandon University from 1963-1965 before joining the University of Saskatchewan in 1965. He was promoted to full professor in 1974. Dr. Courtney has served as president of the Canadian Political Science Association (1987-1988); councillor (1985-1991) and vice-president (1989-1991) of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; founding member and sometime chair of the Timlin Trust (1977-); member of the Saskatchewan Archives Board (1985-1990, 1992-1993); English language editor of the Canadian Journal of Political Science (1981-1984); expert witness in several constitutional challenges to federal and provincial electoral laws; and visiting professor at a number of universities in the United States and Europe

Emmett Matthew Hall was born at St. Columban, Quebec, 29 November, 1898 and moved west with his family to Saskatoon in March 1910. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, and graduated from the College of Law in 1919. Hall was called to the Bar of Saskatchewan in March 1922 and was named King's Council in May 1935. In October 1957 he accepted an appointment as Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench Court for Saskatchewan. He was named Chief Justice of Saskatchewan in 1961, and appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in November 1962. Hall retired from the Supreme Court in February 1973. In addition to his distinguished legal and judicial career, Hall had an outstanding record of public service. He was appointed Chairman of the Royal Commission on Health Service in 1961, which led to Canada's national medical care insurance scheme. He also chaired the Committee on Aims and Objectives for Education in Ontario, the Board of Trustees of St. Paul Separate School District and was president of the Catholic School Trustees of Saskatchewan. Hall lectured in Law at the University of Saskatchewan from 1948 to 1958, and was a member of the University Senate from 1942 to 1954. A member of the Knights of Columbus since 1918, he was created a Knight of Malta in 1958, of the Order of St. Gregory in 1968 and of the Holy Sepulchre in 1969. Among his many honors and awards are a Honourary Doctor of Laws from the U of S, Companion of the Order of Canada, and the Bronfman Award for public health achievement.

Robert Edward Olley was born in Verdun, Quebec, in 1933. He attended Carleton University through night school, receiving a BA in Economics and Political Science in 1960. He continued with postgraduate work at Queen's University earning both his MA (1961) and PhD (1969). He joined the faculty at the University of Saskatchewan in 1963 and, by 1974, had been promoted to the rank of full Professor. He has worked as visiting economic advisor to Bell Canada, specifically regarding efficient use of capital and has served as an advisor to several North American telecommunications companies, regarding productivity measurement. He was named Director of Research for the 1967-68 Royal Commission on Consumer Problems and Inflation for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and has served as both Vice-President and Chairman of the Board of Governors for the Consumers' Association of Canada. He retired from the University of Saskatchewan in 1993 and was named Professor Emeritus.

Ronald Sidney Ridgway was born on April 17, 1923 in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. He began studies at Sheffield University in 1941. He became a member of the University Air Squadron, enlisted and was mobilized in May 1942. Following initial training in England, Ridgway was posted for training as Observer to Canada. He was commissioned in 1943 and served in India, Burma (Myanmar), and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant in July 1945 and released from active duty in August 1946. Following his return, Ridgway earned a BA from Sheffield University in 1948. He immigrated to Canada in 1951, where he earned an MA from the University of Manitoba (1953). He first joined the University of Saskatchewan as an instructor in French in July 1953. Ridgway earned a Docteur de l'Université from Université d'Aix-Marseille in 1958. He served as Head of the Department of French and Spanish from 1965 to 1976 and served as acting head of Germanic Languages in 1973. The high regard in which Ridgway was held by his peers is evident both in the reviews of his scholarly work and in the numerous university committees on which he was asked to serve. Ridgway was awarded Professor Emeritus status upon his early retirement from the University in 1985. Ridgway died in Saskatoon in December 2002.

A native of Manchester, England, Edith C. Rowles Simpson was raised on a homestead on the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. She taught at a number of rural Saskatchewan schools prior to enrolling at the University of Saskatchewan where she won the Rutter prize for most distinguished graduate receiving her BHSc in 1932. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin (MSc, 1939) and Columbia (EdD, 1956). Simpson joined the faculty of the Department of Women's Work, University of Saskatchewan, in 1932 serving in a number of positions throughout her career: supervisor of girls' work (1936); assistant professor in the College of Agriculture (1941); University Dean of Women (1944); assistant professor in the College of Home Economics (1950); and professor and Dean of Home Economics (1965-1972). In her extension work she conducted Farm Girls' Camps and Extension Short Courses. Her academic speciality was in food science, an area in which she taught, researched and published. In 1964 Simpson published the book Home Economics In Canada: Prologue To Change and also married historian and fellow professor G.W. Simpson. After spending her entire professional life at the U of S she retired in 1972, was named Dean Emeritus and was further honoured with the establishment of the Edith Rowles Simpson Lectureship. In 1993 the University of Saskatchewan honoured her again with a Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree. Dr. Simpson's professional affiliations included memberships in the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canadian and American Dietetic Associations and Canadian Home Economics Association where she served as President. Among her many awards and honours are inductions into the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Order of Canada in 1987.