Head and shoulders image of John Peter Curror (d. 1964), Business Manager, 1942-1955.

Head and shoulders image of Ernest F. Whitmore, College of Law, 1938-1956.

Bio/Historical Note: Ernest Francis Laughton Whitmore was born in 1904 in Winchester, England. He immigrated to the Saskatoon area with his parents in 1911. He graduated from Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon and then attended the University of Saskatchewan, earning an LLB with Great Distinction and the Wetmore Scholarship in Law in 1925. Whitmore was called to the Bar in 1928. After graduating Whitmore practiced law in Saskatoon with the firm of Sibbald, Caswell and Whitmore. Whitmore was also solicitor for Saskatoon City Hospital from 1935-1936 and a legal adviser to the United Farmers of Canada, Saskatchewan section. Whitmore began teaching classes as a lecturer at the U of S in 1929. He was appointed assistant professor in the College of Law at the U of S in 1939 and was granted full professorship in 1943. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 1951. Whitmore taught at the U of S until 1956, when he left to join Regina law firm MacPherson, Leslie and Tyerman as associate counsel. Whitmore was regarded as a well-known legal expert in Saskatchewan. His obituary in the Saskatchewan Bar Review notes “ ‘Ernie’ Whitmore will be remembered by scores of his students for the meticulous way in which he organized his material, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the case law and for his willingness to spend hours of his time discussing legal problems with his students.” (Volume 29, Issue 3, September 1964, p. 142) Whitmore died 16 August 1964 at age 60.

Head and shoulders image of Nan McKay, assistant librarian, 1915-1959.

Bio/Historical Note: Annie Maude (Nan) McKay was born in 1892 at Fort à la Corne, Northwest Territories, the daughter of Annie Maud Mary Fortescue; her father was Angus McKay, Hudson Bay Company employee, McKay completed high school in Prince Albert and won a scholarship to the University of Saskatchewan, where she took an honours course in English and French. She was awarded a BA in 1915. McKay was active in student affairs, serving on the student council and the executives of the YWCA and Penta Kai Deka, and as the staff artist of The Sheaf. McKay was a member of the women’s hockey team in 1915 and played hockey on university-affiliated teams until well into the 1920s. During the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 she worked as a volunteer nurse; her name is painted on the stairwell in the College Building — and she was chosen to unveil the plaque commemorating the undergraduate student who died. Upon graduation in 1915 McKay was hired as assistant librarian of the University Library, and later became the first secretary-treasurer of the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association (established in 1917). McKay worked at the library for 44 years until her retirement in 1959. McKay died on 27 July 1986 in Saskatoon at age of 93. In 2007 she was chosen one of the University of Saskatchewan’s “100 Alumni of Influence” and was said to be the “first Métis and first Aboriginal woman” to graduate from the University. The holdings of the University of Saskatchewan Archives contain a 1915 photo of McKay shown sharing an embrace and a kiss with a woman named Hope Weir (BA’15) outside a university residence building. The kiss photo was originally found about one-third of the way through a McKay photo album that also included pictures of parties, theatrical performances, camping and other aspects of student life. For a biography on Nan McKay, see: https://library.usask.ca/indigenous/history_essays/nan_mckay.php

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Herman H. Ferns, 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.

Portrait of Dr. E.P.W. Fritsche, College of Medicine, 1954-1962.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Charles W. Lightbody, Professor, Department of History, 1948-1963.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Charles Wayland Lightbody was born in Kansas in 1904. He obtained a BA from the University of Saskatchewan in 1924 and an MA from the University of Toronto in 1925. He was a Rhodes Scholar for Saskatchewan in 1925 and he earned a BA from Oxford in 1928. Dr. Lightbody later earned an MA from Oxford in 1936 and a PhD from Cornell University. Dr. Lightbody was an assistant professor of History at St. Lawrence University from 1930-1942. From 1948-1962 Dr. Lightbody was a rofessor in the Department of History at the U of S. He spent a year at the Regina campus before taking a position at Brandon University (then Brandon College) in 1963. He was named head of the History Department at Brandon University in 1964. He was a noted historian who specialized in medieval history, particularly Joan of Arc. Dr. Lightbody died in Brandon in January 1970.

Portrait of Dr. E.W. Spencer, College of Medicine, 1954-1963.

Head and shoulders image of M.G.P. Cameron, Cancer Research, College of Medicine, 1956-1964.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Donald D. Cameron, director of Correspondence Courses and lecturer in English, seated at his desk.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Donald D. Cameron was on the faculty of the Department of English from 1946-1965. He was director of Correspondence Courses from 1946-1966.

Portrait of W.L. Hutcheon, College of Agriculture, 1945-1965.

Head and shoulders image of J.L. Millar, Department of Veterinary Science, 1947-1965.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. George H. Ling, first dean of Arts and Science, 1909-1939.

Bio/Historical Note: George Herbert Ling (1874-1942) was born in Wallacetown, Ontario and obtained BA, (Toronto), PhD (Columbia), and ad eundem (Saskatchewan) degrees. He was the lone professor of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Saskatchewan from 1910-1915. During this time he also took on secretarial duties. Ling was Dean of the College of Arts & Science from 1912-1939, director of summer school from 1919-1937, and remained with the mathematics department until 1939. Ling also served as Acting President of the University in 1919-1920. He helped make the summer school one of the best in Canada. Ling taught in summer sessions at Columbia, Cincinnati, New York, and California. He served as a Chairman of the Saskatchewan Educational Council, and was a member of many academic societies American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Association of America, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Ling co-wrote a book on projective geometry, and contributed to scholastic journals. Well respected and much loved by students and associates, Ling believed that the Faculty of Arts & Science was the root of any university, and strived to strengthen these roots. Ling retired in 1938 was awarded an honourary Doctor of Laws degree by the University in 1939. Ling died in Toronto in 1942.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Harry Oliver, first Professor of History and Economics, 1909-1914.

Bio/Historical Note: Born in Eberts, Kent County, Ontario in 1882, Edmund Henry Oliver received his BA from the University of Toronto in 1902. He went on to earn an MA the following year, before earning his PhD in 1905. Upon the request of Dr. Walter Murray, founding president of the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Oliver came to Saskatoon to help establish the university and, a few years later, the Presbyterian Theological College (later known as St. Andrew’s College). He returned to Toronto in 1910 to earn a Doctor of Divinity degree before returning to teach history at the newly founded University of Saskatchewan. He was appointed in 1913 by the Presbyterian General Assembly of Canada to serve as the first president of the Presbyterian Theological College. Dr. Oliver was deeply committed to the integration of theological education into the broader academic environment and post-secondary community. Under his leadership the new college began plans to build and move into a new location on campus. At the outbreak of the First World War, Dr. Oliver enlisted as a military chaplain. Stationed mainly in France, he continued to be a proponent of education, establishing the University of Vimy Ridge, consisting of reading rooms for soldiers who were on leave. Dr. Oliver rode his bicycle out to the front lines in order to provide books and classes to the infantry. He believed that this would allow those who survived to return to Canada and be leaders in their communities and society. After the war Dr. Oliver continued his work in theological education and became involved in the church union debates between the Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational churches which would lead to the formation of the United Church of Canada in 1925. He was greatly influenced by the social gospel movement and served on two Royal Commissions: one to establish farming co-operatives and credit systems, and the other to create a liquor control board. Dr. Oliver saw his life work as one of service on the new frontiers of Canada, and during his time as Moderator of the United Church from 1930 to 1932, he lived into that, travelling across the country during The Great Depression urging people to donate clothing and food to those who needed it. He died in 1935 at the age of 53, while working with youth at a summer camp. Dr. Oliver is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Arthur S. Moxon, first Dean of Law, 1909-1939.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Arthur S. Moxon was born in 1881 in Truro, Nova Scotia. He received a BA from Dalhousie University in 1906. He then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning both a BA in jurisprudence and a Bachelor of Common Laws degree. Dr. Moxon was appointed professor of Classics for the new University of Saskatchewan in 1909 and was one of the five original faculty members. Dr. Moxon became a lecturer of Law in 1911 and was promoted to professor of Law in 1913. He was dean of Law from 1919-1929. Dr. Moxon was named King’s Counsel in 1927. He was with the law firm of McLean, Hollinrake and was estates manager of the National Trust Company before he became dean of Law. Dr. Moxon held many positions, including on the University Senate (1934-1937) and was a member of the Board of Governors (1937-1953), serving as chair for four of those years. In 1953 Dr. Moxon received an honourary Doctor of Civil Laws degree from the U of S. Dr. Moxon died in Saskatoon in 1963. He was the last survivor of the band of five pioneers who constituted the original faculty of the University: Bateman, Ling, Moxon, Murray and Oliver. At the time of his death he was University Solicitor. The College of Law Alumni Association established a scholarship fund in his honour for post-graduate study. Moxon Crescent in the Greystone Heights neighborhood of Saskatoon also honours him.

Portrait of T.N. Willing, Department of Biology, 1915-1920.