Donald Cameron Kerr was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1936 and educated at St. Joseph’s School, Nutana Collegiate and the University of Saskatchewan where he received an Honours B.A. in English in 1958. He earned an M.A. in English at the University of Toronto in 1960. Kerr taught at the U of S from 1960 to 1962 and, after two years in London, U.K., from 1964 until his retirement, as professor emeritus, after a 42-year career. During his tenure at Saskatchewan, Kerr was promoted from instructor to lecturer (1965), assistant professor (1966), associate professor (1976) and professor (1983). In addition to serving as acting chair of the department of English in 1985-1986, Kerr served on a number of departmental, college and university committees.

In addition to his university work, Kerr served on numerous boards, including the World University Service, the Saskatoon Public Library, the Meewasin Valley Authority, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, and SaskFilm. He served as both board member and editor for Coteau Books and NeWest Press, and was the first chair of Saskatoon’s Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee.

Kerr's literary career as a poet, historian, playwright and editor included publication of several books of poetry; plays produced including at 25th Street Theatre, Greystone Theatre, Roxy Theatre and Persephone Theatre; and books relating to Saskatchewan history and politics. These literary and academic pursuits often overlapped, such as with his historical plays Two-Gun Cohen and Lanc (for which Kerr interviewed veterans of World War Two Lancaster Bomber crews).

He was awarded the Order of Merit in 2007 for his service to the province, and later served as Saskatchewan’s poet laureate (2011-2012). He also received the Saskatoon Musicians Association’s Kenny Shields Award for contributions to the professional arts in 2018.

He met Mildred McNamee at St. Thomas More in 1956; they were married in 1961 and they had three sons, David, Robert and William. Don Kerr died 8 December 2020 in Saskatoon.

Although the Sociology Department was formally established in 1958, classes in Sociology had been offered since 1940 through the Department of Economics. The merger of Economics and Political Science in 1947 resulted in the creation of a sub-department of Sociology. Within a year of its creation the Department of Sociology was offering graduate level classes and was developing a research program that would focus on ethnic relations, medical sociology, family studies and community development. In an effort to further facilitate excellence in research and scholarly work, the social research unit was created in 1983. The following have served as head of the department: R.E. DuWors (1957-1968); J.E. Abramson (1968-1972); D.R. Cherry (1972-1974); G.S. Basran (1974-1978); B.S. Bolaria (9178-1990); K. Storrie (1990-1993); T. Wotherspoon (1993-).

Charles Hayter is associate professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, and a radiation oncologist at Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre. Prior to embarking on a career in medicine, he studied drama at Queen’s University and the University of Calgary, and he has remained active as a writer and actor. He is the author of An Element of Hope: Radium and the Response to Cancer in Canada, 1900-1940 (McGill-Queen’s Press, 2005). In 2001 Dr. Hayter was awarded the John B. Neilson Award for his “significant long-standing contributions to the history of health care in Canada.”

Hugh Duncan (“Howdy”) McPhail was born 14 March 1915 near Bankend, Saskatchewan. His early schooling was in Prince Albert, and in 1934 he won a hockey scholarship to Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. He attended the University of Saskatchewan from 1938-1942, graduating with a BSc in agricultural economics. Just over a week after writing his final exams, Howdy enlisted in the air force, learning how to fly in a de Havilland Tiger Moth at the Prince Albert Elementary Flying Training School. He served throughout the war, surviving a bail-out over Sweden and flying 28 missions. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for “his unselfishness, splendid record, and high degree of courage…”. Initially a Sask Wheat Pool field man, Howdy established McPhail Airways in North Battleford (later, McPhail Air Services Ltd.) in 1952. During the spring and summer he sprayed crops; offered flying lessons; and began taking aerial photographs of farms and towns throughout the West and extending into BC, Ontario, and the United States. Farm photographs were ordered by the farm owners, often as small prints and in some cases, hand-tinted (a young Allan Sapp was one of the people hired to do this). Products were later expanded to include greeting cards and for images of towns, postcards and calendars. By 1962 he effectively stopped his aerial photography. He continued to operate McPhail Air Services until 1981. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995; into the Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1999; and a park in North Battleford was named in his honour. Howdy died in March 2001. [Source: Bill Waiser, Portraits of an Era).

Marie Elyse St. George is a visual artist, poet and author. Her work has been used for the covers of several Canadian books, and she has exhibited in both Canada and the United States. She has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Saskatchewan Writers Guild first prize for poetry (1989); The League of Canadian Poets National Poetry Contest first prize (1989); and the Saskatchewan Book Award for Nonfiction (2006). A collaboration of St. George’s art and Anne Szumigalski’s poetry at the Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, resulted in Voice, 1995 winner of the Governer General’s Literary Award. Her other books include Heading Out (1986), White Lions In The Afternoon (1987), and Once in a Blue Moon: An Artist's Life (2006). In 1996 she was given the Saskatchewan YWCA’s Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture. Born near St. Catherine’s, Ontario, St. George has lived in Canada, England and the United States but her home is in Saskatoon.

R.J. Woods was born in London, England in 1928 and by 1951 had earned a B.Sc. Honours (1949) and a Ph.D. (1951) from Imperial College, University of London. From 1951-1953, Woods worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Prairie Regional Laboratory of the National Research Council in Saskatoon. He spend the following year at the University of New Zealand before accepting his first appointment at the U of S was in 1955 as a Research Associate in Chemistry. Dr. Woods advanced through the ranks obtaining the rank of Full Professor.

Isabelle Mills was educated at the University of Manitoba and Columbia University, where she received her Ed.D. She was a member of the Music and Education faculties at Brandon College (now University) before her appointment in the Department of Music at the University of Saskatchewan. Her teaching responsibilities included courses in Canadian music, church music, and music methods at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Her special teaching and research interest was Canadian music, of which she was a strong proponent. Dr. Mills retired in 1991.

Valentin John Linitsky was born in Kharkov, Russia [Ukraine] in 1891. After earning a law degree in Russia, he traveled extensively, living in Brazil, France, and Germany before settling in Canada. Lydia Petroff was also born in Kharkov, Russia (in 1901) to Sergei Petroff and Agrafin (Rachel) Avrashow. A sister, Jennie, was born in 1902. Following severe repression in that area after an abortive revolution against the Tsar in 1905, the Petroff family decided to immigrate; they arrived in Canada in 1906, eventually settling in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Both Lydia and Jennie became teachers. While teaching in Alberta in 1929, Lydia met and married Valentin Linitsky. They moved to Saskatoon in 1935, where Valentin attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating with an LLB in 1937. When the Petroff parents moved to Saskatoon in 1945, Jennie joined them. She lived with her parents until their deaths, then shared a house with her sister Lydia. Valentin Linitsky died on March 13, 1948; Lydia Petroff Linitsky died on January 2, 1988; and Jennie Petroff died on January 20, 1992.

Roger C. Carter, born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan on 23 March 1922 received his early education in Victoria, British Columbia before attending the University of Saskatchewan where he earned a B.A. in 1945 and a LL.B. in 1947, both with distinction. In his final year of law he was awarded the Thomas Dowrick Brown Prize as the most distinguished member of the graduating class. Mr. Carter practised law in Saskatoon from 1949 until July of 1963 when he was appointed associate professor of law at the U of S. The following year he was promoted to professor. During his years of private practise he was a member of the Graham Royal Commission, special counsel for the Labour Relations Board, counsel for the Royal Commission inquiring into Prudential Trust mineral transactions, counsel for the Province of Saskatchewan before the MacPherson Royal Commission on Transportation and a member of the University's Board of Governors. In 1958 he was appointed Queen's Counsel. Professor Carter was granted leave in 1967-68 to assume the Cook Fellowship at the University of Michigan School of Law, where he was subsequently awarded master of laws degree. From 1969 until 1974 Professor Carter served as Dean of the College of Law. During this time, Carter was instrumental in the creation of Saskatchewan's Legal Aid system and the Native Law Centre, of which he became the first director. In 1981 he was honoured by Queen's University with an LL.D. Dr. Carter retired in 1989 and passed away in 2009.

Cathy Kmita works in the film industry in Saskatchewan.

Operating from 1969 to 1975 and reporting to the Principal, the Student Liaison Office was created by the University Administration as a mechanism to monitor student activities and act as a liaison between the administration and the students.

In 1967, as part of the administrative reorganization precipitated by the implementation of the one university two campus concept, the Board of Governors created the position of Dean of Students. The Dean was to be responsible for student counselling, the Student Health Centre, and the operating philosophy of student residences. Problems in the area of student-University relations were to be referred to the Dean's office for study and recommendation. R.A. Rennie, who was Director of Counselling and Student Affairs from 1958-1967, served as the only Dean of Students from 1967 until his death in 1973. With the creation of the University of Regina in 1974, the position of Dean of Students was made redundant.

In early 1909 it was announced that the University of Saskatchewan would be situated in Saskatoon on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River and the first group of buildings were opened in 1912. The current 755 hectare site includes 147 hectares of campus, 30 hectares of research park, and a large University Farm and Experimental Plot. The University also owns under lease a 52 hectare site on Emma Lake used for summer session classes in Biology and Art. The University of Saskatchewan owns and operates three research farms used primarily by the Colleges of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. Charged with maintaining the building, grounds and physical plant was the Superintendent of Buildings, later the Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, and from 1983 the Director (now Executive Director) of Physical Plant. In 1996 Physical Plant was renamed Division of Facilities Management. The following have served as Superintendent of Buildings: A.R. Grieg (1909-1937); W.E. Lovell (1937-1947); W.J. Robson (1947-1957); J.A. Wedgewood (1957-1969); A.D. Reed (1969- ).

The Division of Audio Visual Services came into existence in 1966 following a Council resolution of April 1965. The objective was to develop a centralized audio visual service to support teaching, research and extension. With the growing use of audio visual technology in education the Division has expanded both in size and the diversity of services offered. The Division provided a film and videotape library, equipment services, photographic services, multi-media and sound recording, and a wide array of television services. Starting in the 1980s, the Division was been heavily involved in the use of satellite communication for distance education. The Division was subsequently renamed the Division of Media and Technology, and later Educational Media Access and Production, reflecting an expanding role with new technologies. Following a reorganization ca. 2015, Media Production became part of the Vice-Provost Teaching and Learning portfolio, with some other functions assumed by Information Communications and Technology. The following have served as director of the Division (revised 1994): P.R. Greenough (1967-1972); G.A. Farkas - acting - (1972-1974); G.A. Farkas (1974-1985); D. Fortosky (1985- ).

Since its establishment in 1908 the College of Arts and Science has performed a dual function: it has prepared students for entry into one of the professional colleges; and it has provided students with an opportunity to become familiar with some field of language and literature, natural science, social science, or fine arts. The first classes, conducted by five professors in the fall of 1909, were presented to some 70 students in borrowed quarters in the Drinkle Block at 2nd Avenue and 21st Street. (Classes were not offered in the sciences owing to the absence of suitable facilities or equipment). The University moved to Victoria Elementary School in 1910, to Nutana Collegiate Institute in 1911, and finally to the present campus in 1912. In May 1912 seven students admitted with advanced standing (from other universities) were awarded degrees at the first graduation ceremony, held at Nutana Collegiate. On 29 April 1913, the first graduating class of twenty students received BA degrees.