Head and shoulders image of Dr. Herman H. Ferns, head, Department of Mathematics, 1928-1931, 1934-1962.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Herman Harvey Ferns was born 24 December 1894 in Jaffa, Ontario. He attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating in 1927 with a special Governor-General's Gold Medal as most distinguished graduate. Dr. Ferns received a PhD from the University of Toronto in 1933. His first appointment to the U of S faculty was as an instructor in mathematics in 1928. Dr. Ferns was promoted to professor in 1941 and was head of the Mathematics Department from 1946 until his retirement in 1962. Dr. Ferns was director of the Summer School from 1949-1959. He served as adviser to veterans of World War II and was active in the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps for many years. Dr. Ferns played an important role in persuading leading artists to contribute their talents to the development of a program of summer art classes at Emma Lake, which in turn was a major factor in the establishment of a strong community of artists in Saskatchewan. Dr. Ferns was president of the Faculty Club and was active in numerous community organizations such as the Canadian Institute of International Affairs. He received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the U of S in May 1976. Dr. Ferns died in Saskatoon in December 1976. The Dr. Herman Ferns Memorial Scholarship is open to a student entering their third year of an honours degree in Mathematics or a combined honours degree in Mathematics and a second subject.

View of the Crop Science Building (Field Husbandry) taken from an angle. Summer scene.

Head and shoulders image of Gordon Flaten, USSU President and 1989 graduate of Agriculture.

Image of tractor pulling a trailer carrying a group of unidentified people on campus. Feed 9grain) elevator in background at right.

Bio/Historical Note: In 1955 a group of thirty-two people met in Estevan, Saskatchewan to discuss the formation of a Saskatchewan chapter of the National Flying Farmers Association. On 2 November 1955, the National Flying Farmers Association issued a charter officially granting membership to the Saskatchewan association. The first annual meeting was held in Regina in 1956. The Saskatchewan Flying Farmers' Association was incorporated as a non-profit organization in Saskatchewan on 3 March 1977. The objectives of the Association are to promote the practical use of airplanes in the agricultural industry; to sponsor education and research on general aviation; to urge minimum regulations for general aviation; to encourage landing strips close to towns and cities; to develop public acceptance of light aircraft and to promote safe flying through education of pilots in the use of radio and other navigational aids. Executive members include a president; vice-president; secretary; treasurer and directors. Other officers include a public relations officer; newsletter editor and junior-teen advisor. The Queen is the official hostess of the Association. Monthly meetings and annual conventions are held and activities are planned to include members' spouses and children.

Head and shoulders image of Eugene Forsey, honourary Doctor of Laws degree recipient. Image possibly taken near time of presentation.

Bio/Historical Note: Eugene Alfred Forsey PC CC FRSC (1904-1991) served in the Senate of Canada from 1970 to 1979. Forsey was considered to be one of Canada's foremost constitutional experts.

Head and shoulders photo of Vernon C. Fowke, Professor of Economics and Political Science.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Del Fredlund, professor, Department of Civil Engineering.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Delwyn G. Fredlund is Professor Emeritus in Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering (2021).

Unidentified man working with geological equipment.

Image of model of the Geology Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The construction of the Geology Building marked a return to the early style of campus architecture. The Department of Geology had been formed in 1927 and for the next six decades was based in the east wing of the Engineering Building. A growing faculty and student population had forced the department to cobble together makeshift accommodation in trailers and remote campus buildings. Designed by the architectural firm Black, McMillan and Larson of Regina, the building was given a neo-Collegiate Gothic exterior to blend harmoniously with the other buildings in the central campus. The two-and-a-half-storey building was erected just south or the Bowl side of the W.P. Thompson Biology Building, providing 8,543 square metres for office, laboratory, library, classroom, and storage space for rock and fossil samples. The exterior was clad with greystone and dressed with tyndal limestone. The dominant feature of the interior was a two-story atrium that featured the mosaics for the former exterior walls of the Thompson Building, a life-size skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex and geological and biological displays. The $18.5 million Geology Building was completed in 1988 and fused the space between Physics and Biology and linked, through a walkway, with Chemistry, creating an integrated science complex on campus.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. John W. Gerrard, Head, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. John Watson Gerrard was born on 14 April 1916 in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). His father, Herbert Shaw Gerrard, was a medical missionary, ably supported by his wife Doris. Dr. Gerrard grew up in England and obtained his MD from Oxford University. In World War II he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in North Africa, Italy (Anzio) and Palestine. After the war Dr. Gerrard trained as a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, England, joined the staff of the University of Birmingham, and undertook further studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 1955 he moved to Saskatoon where he was founding head of the Department of Pediatrics in the new full Medical School at the University of Saskatchewan, where he remained head until 1971. As Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Dr. Gerrard continued to treat patients until well into his eighties. In 1962, along with Dr. Horst Bickel and Evelyn Hickmans, a biochemist, he was awarded the John Scott Medal by the City of Philadelphia for developing a low phenylalanine diet for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). This, coupled with the work of Dr. R. Guthrie, who developed a test for the early detection of PKU, has enabled affected babies to be put on their special formula soon after birth and to grow up into normal children and adults rather than having an intellectual disability. In Saskatoon he campaigned with Dr. Alvin Buckwold and John Dolan for funds to build what is now known as the Alvin Buckwold Child Development Program. Over many years he taught hundreds of medical students and helped train over a hundred pediatricians. In 1985 Dr. Gerrard received the Alan Ross Award from the Canadian Pediatric Society for his contributions to research, education, healthcare and advocacy for the health of children in Canada. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998. Dr. Gerrard died in Saskatoon in 2013 at age 97.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. John W. Gerrard, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. John Watson Gerrard was born on 14 April 1916 in Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). His father, Herbert Shaw Gerrard, was a medical missionary, ably supported by his wife Doris. Dr. Gerrard grew up in England and obtained his MD from Oxford University. In World War II he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in North Africa, Italy (Anzio) and Palestine. After the war Dr. Gerrard trained as a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital in Birmingham, England, joined the staff of the University of Birmingham, and undertook further studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 1955 he moved to Saskatoon where he was founding head of the Department of Pediatrics in the new full Medical School at the University of Saskatchewan, where he remained head until 1971. As Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Dr. Gerrard continued to treat patients until well into his eighties. In 1962, along with Dr. Horst Bickel and Evelyn Hickmans, a biochemist, he was awarded the John Scott Medal by the City of Philadelphia for developing a low phenylalanine diet for the treatment of phenylketonuria (PKU). This, coupled with the work of Dr. R. Guthrie, who developed a test for the early detection of PKU, has enabled affected babies to be put on their special formula soon after birth and to grow up into normal children and adults rather than having an intellectual disability. In Saskatoon he campaigned with Dr. Alvin Buckwold and John Dolan for funds to build what is now known as the Alvin Buckwold Child Development Program. Over many years he taught hundreds of medical students and helped train over a hundred pediatricians. In 1985 Dr. Gerrard received the Alan Ross Award from the Canadian Pediatric Society for his contributions to research, education, healthcare and advocacy for the health of children in Canada. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998. Dr. Gerrard died in Saskatoon in 2013 at age 97.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Doug Gibson, head, Department of Dairy Science.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Douglas Lorne Gibson was head of Dairy Science in the 1960s and 1970s, and dean of Home Economics from 1976-1981. Dr. Gibson retired in 1983, and died in [Cairo, Egypt] in 1985.

University President J.W.T. Spinks (left) receiving cheque for Golden Jubilee Fund from unidentified O'Keefe [Brewery] official. Indoor scene.