The building of the Linear Accelerator (Linac) was not a random event but rather the result of a series of developments on campus. The Department of Physics had over the previous decades built a reputation for experimentation and innovation. The post-war period saw the University of Saskatchewan in the forefront of nuclear physics in Canada. In 1948, Canada’s first betatron (and the world’s first used in the treatment of cancer) was installed on campus. It was used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. Next the world’s first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the treatment of cancer was officially opened in 1951. With this unit research was undertaken in the areas of radiological physics, radiation chemistry and the effects of high energy radiation on plants and animals. When the construction of the Linear Accelerator was announced in the fall of 1961, it was portrayed as the next logical step on the University’s research path. Varian Associates, Palo Alto, California, designed and built the accelerator with Poole Construction of Saskatoon employed as the general contractor. The 80 foot electron accelerator tube was to create energy six times that of the betatron. The cost of the $1,750,000 facility was split between the National Research Council and the University of Saskatchewan with the NRC meeting the cost of the equipment and the University assuming the costs of the building. The official opening in early November of 1964 was more than just a few speeches and the cutting of a ribbon. It was a physics-fest, with 75 visiting scientist from around the world in attendance presenting papers and giving lectures over the period of several days. Three eminent physicists were granted honorary degrees at the fall convocation and hundreds of people showed up for the public open house. For three decades the Linac has served the campus research community and will continue to do so as it has become incorporated into the Canadian Light Source synchrotron.

The Law/Commerce complex was completed in 1967 by Poole Construction for $2,627,250. It was designed by Holliday-Scott Desmond Paine, and provided 89,154 gross square feet of finished space for the two Colleges.

The building was adjoined to the north end of the existing Arts Building in order to economize building costs, as well as to provide a covered pedestrian passage between Arts, Commerce and Law. The decision to house both the College of Law and the College of Commerce under one roof was made principally in order to conserve land use while still providing both Colleges with almost complete independence in accommodation.

A sculpture by Bill Epp was commissioned in 1968 for the Law-Commerce Complex for $5000. The finished work stands approximately seven feet high by ten feet long and depicts a man and a woman reclining on a bench. The sculpture is composed of steel encased in bronze set on a steel frame. The sculpture rests at the north entrance of the Law Building.

The Law Building was officially opened on September 22, 1967, and was first occupied in the Spring of 1968. At opening it included one 80-seat classroom, two 45-seat classrooms, one 30- seat classroom, four 15-seat seminar rooms and a library. Other space in the complex included the Dean’s office, a general office, 18 faculty offices, the librarian’s office, three graduate students’ offices, a Bar Review office and a Student Society office.

On opening, the Law Library contained stack space for 60,000 volumes and seating for 150 students. The Library consists of two floors, a full main floor and a balcony level which take up 16,000 square feet of space. An additional 6,400 square feet of book storage space, enough to house another 30,000 volumes, was left available in 1968 in the unfinished basement of the building, to be used when it was required.

In 1972 proposals were made to build additional classroom and lounge space in the unfinished basement of the building as part of greater renovations. Plans for the renovations were laid in 1977, and in 1980 the unfinished space in the basement of the Law Building was completed. An existing seminar room and a stack room in the main building were also converted into four new offices for faculty, and the existing lounge area as well as an adjacent classroom were renovated. The renovations were contracted to Tubby and Wilks for $120,800 and were designed by the architectural firm of Holliday-Scott Desmond Paine.

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.

The University of Saskatchewan's Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies joined in 1965 with university scientists and researchers to form the Space Engineering Division (later known as SED Systems Incorporated). SED supplies both systems and services to the satellite industry. SED is located in the Innovation Place Research Park on the U of S campus.

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 Institute of Northern Studies was established in January 1960 as a multi-disciplinary unit dedicated to research on the Canadian North and other circumpolar regions, with a special emphasis on northern Saskatchewan. The Institute was to act as a focal point of 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 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. In 1981 it was announced that the Institute would be phased out over the next three years. Directors: J.B. Mawdsley (1960-1965); W.O. Kupsch (1965-1973); R.M. Bone (acting) (1973-1974); R.M. Bone (1974-1982).

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.

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.

The University of Saskatchewan’s first pool opened in 1916. Located in the basement of Qu'Appelle Hall, it was 18 feet wide, 45 feet long and around 8 feet deep with a spring board and changing rooms. Speed swimming, diving, water polo and recreational swimming soon became popular activities in the long Saskatchewan winters. The pool closed soon after the Physical Education pool opened in October 1964.

The Dean of Agriculture’s Residence, now the University Faculty Club, was among first buildings on campus. Designed by Brown & Vallance of Montreal, the original plan called for a wood-clad structure but this was abandoned when the Board of Governors decided to use local greystone in May, 1911. Unlike several of the larger buildings, the Dean’s Residence was built by university employees with the assistance of day labourers. Construction took less than a year and costs ran to nearly $25,000.

Sometimes known as “grey gables,” the building’s first resident was W.J. Rutherford. The location of the house, on the campus close to the University Farm, reflected the unique relationship of the Agricultural College with the University. In addition to a family residence, the adjourning grounds were used on occasion as the site for outdoor receptions and social gatherings. The last Dean to live in the house was V.E. Graham who moved out in 1961 so the building could be converted into a Faulty Club. The building underwent two more renovations in 1966 and 1975. The latter was the most extensive, cost $607,961, and established the footprint of the building as it exists today.

At 3:00 pm on 19 September 1972, a fire that had been smoldering in the roof insulation for hours became apparent inside the club. The building was evacuated and an alarm called into the City of Saskatoon Fire Department. Six units were eventually dispatched to battle the “stubborn” fire before a crowd of several hundred onlookers. No one was injured, the building was saved from catastrophic damage and it was soon functioning again as a friendly oasis for the members of faculty.

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.

Emmanuel College has a unique history and relationship with the University of Saskatchewan and pre-dates the Saskatoon institution by some thirty years. The College was founded at Prince Albert in 1879 by Rt. Rev. John McLean as a “training College for Native Helpers.” In 1883 by an Act of Parliament, Emmanuel College was incorporated as "The University of Saskatchewan.” When the provincial university was established in Saskatoon in 1909, the Synod decided to relinquish its title and opt for affiliation to the new university.

Emmanuel sold its old site to the federal government, to be used for a penitentiary, and shipped all its belongs to Saskatoon in four box cars. On unbroken prairie on the east side of the river, professors, students and carpenters began to construct a series of wooden buildings. This “College of Shacks” was moved between 1910 and 1912 to the campus. In 1913 Rugby Chapel, so named because it had been funded by the staff and students of Rugby School, England was moved to the campus from Prince Albert.

A stone clad, permanent college building was constructed between 1911 and 1912. Designed by Brown and Vallance, the building contained residential space for students and the college Principal, classrooms and a refectory in the basement. In 1916 the College was used as a military hospital for returned soldiers and in 1918, as a hospital during the outbreak of influenza. In 1962 McLean Hall was built as an addition to Emmanuel College but a proposed walkway connecting the two was never completed.

Rugby Chapel was reopened in 1922 after a period of disuse during WWI. A pipeless furnace was later installed to replace 3 heating stoves, the ceiling was raised, the walls decorated and finally, a pipe organ installed in the summer of 1923. In 1926 a stained-glass window, “For the sake of the Name they went forth,” was installed to commemorate the Emmanuel students who died in WWI.

In 1964 St. Chad’s College of Regina joined Emmanuel.

Ellis Hall was designed and built as part of the University’s Medical Complex that included the Medical College Building and the University Hospital. As with the other two buildings, it was clad in locally quarried greystone. Opened in January of 1956, the Hall was designed by Webster & Gilbert to meet the needs of the 275 students in the School of Nursing who would study on campus, work in the hospital and live in residence. With the opening of the University Hospital in 1954, a basic 3-year diploma program was established aimed at producing bedside nurses. Board and room, laundry and uniforms were provided without charge. In addition an allowance of six, eight and ten dollars per month for first, second and third years respectively was granted. The Hall was named after Kathleen Ellis, who served from 1938 to 1950 as the School of Nursing's first director. It has the distinction of being the only building on campus named in honour of a woman. Today Ellis Hall is linked by a walkway to the 1979 Hospital Addition and is still home to the College of Nursing.

The Law Building was officially opened on September 22, 1967, and was first occupied in the Spring of 1968. At opening it included one 80-seat classroom, two 45-seat classrooms, one 30- seat classroom, four 15-seat seminar rooms and a library. Other space in the complex included the Dean’s office, a general office, 18 faculty offices, the librarian’s office, three graduate students’ offices, a Bar Review office and a Student Society office.

On opening, the Law Library contained stack space for 60,000 volumes and seating for 150 students. The Library consists of two floors, a full main floor and a balcony level which take up 16,000 square feet of space. An additional 6,400 square feet of book storage space, enough to house another 30,000 volumes, was left available in 1968 in the unfinished basement of the building, to be used when it was required.

In 1972 proposals were made to build additional classroom and lounge space in the unfinished basement of the building as part of greater renovations. Plans for the renovations were laid in 1977, and in 1980 the unfinished space in the basement of the Law Building was completed. An existing seminar room and a stack room in the main building were also converted into four new offices for faculty, and the existing lounge area as well as an adjacent classroom were renovated. The renovations were contracted to Tubby and Wilks for $120,800 and were designed by the architectural firm of Holliday-Scott Desmond Paine.