More than 15 U of S College of Agriculture graduates from the class of 1961 held a reunion visit to campus, marking 40 years since their graduation. The group, which includes current University Board of Governors member Gary Carlson, far left, is getting ready to board a bus outside the Agriculture Building. to be given an expert tour of new buildings by U of S Associate Vice-President of Facilities Management Paul Becker, fifth from right, and University Architect Colin Tennent, far right. Becker and Tennent had just given the Agriculture grads a PowerPoint computer presentation about physical changes to the campus in the past 40 years. They had then taken a tour of the Agriculture Building. The Saskatchewan Agriculture Graduates' Association holds its reunion during Crop Production Week, and also has a hockey tournament, bonspiel, etc.

Bio/historical note: Image appeared in 19 Jan. 2001 issue of OCN.

Images of all four University of Saskatchewan-owned Amati instruments, taken from a variety of angles.

Bio/Historical Note: Three string quartets bearing the name Amati have been based in Canada. Two separate Amati string quartets have performed on 17th-century instruments built by the Amati family of Italy, and owned by the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. A third unrelated Amati String Quartet was based in Ontario, primarily Toronto, from 1985 to 2000. This first Amati String Quartet was founded in 1968 by Murray Adaskin and three other faculty members of the University of Saskatchewan: Norma Lee Bisha (second violin), Michael Bowie (viola), and Edward Bisha (cello). It gave its first concert on 2 February 1969. Later that same year, Robert Klose was named second violin and Norma Lee Bisha replaced Michael Bowie. The personnel remained stable until the group was supplanted in 1971 by the Canadian Arts Trio after fewer than 10 formal concerts. The quartet was too short-lived to develop a wide repertoire or a distinctive style. The University of Saskatchewan Amati Quartet in Residence was established in August 2003 and also played on the university’s Amati instruments. This quartet had previously been known as the Cole Quartet. The initial members were Marla Cole (1968-2017) first violin), Michael Swan (second violin), Geoff Cole (viola) and Linda Bardutz (cello). In 2004, Luke Hnenny became second violinist and Peter Hedlin replaced Bardutz as cellist. The Amati Quartet performs a yearly recital series, including a Thanksgiving Monday concert, and plays at various University of Saskatchewan events. It performed for Queen Elizabeth II in honour of Saskatchewan’s 100th anniversary in May 2005, and since its opening season has undertaken a project to perform all of Haydn’s string quartets. The Amati instruments at the University of Saskatchewan — one violin built in 1627, another violin built in 1637, the viola in 1607 and the cello in 1690 — are the only set in Canada built by the Amati family of Cremona. The viola’s back bears the painted crest of the Borghese family that commissioned it. All were purchased by Kindersley, Sask. collector Stephen Kolbinson (1888-1986) and sold to the university in 1959 for $20,000 on the condition that the university establish an Amati string quartet. The Canadian Arts Trio (active 1971–1975) — which comprised Robert Klose (violin), Edward Bisha (cello) and Robin Harrison (piano) — used two of the four Amati instruments owned by the university. The Amati instruments were lent to Victoria's Lafayette Quartet 1992-1998. They have also occasionally been played by members of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. The estimated value of the instruments is approximately $3 million (2020).

Image of Carol Henry (right), College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, with Donna Cram, manager of the Faculty Club, at a social event.

Jerry White of Facilities Management cleans the courtyard in front of the Peter MacKinnon Building.

Images of food being prepared, served, and eaten around campus including A&W, Diner's Hour, and Itza Pizza

Posed indoor image of the students and professors of the 'Business in Canada: The Aboriginal Dimensions' class, a pilot class in the College of Commerce. At far right is Prof. Dr. Wanda Wuttunee from the University of Manitoba.

Bio/historical note: Image appeared in 9 Mar. 2001 issue of OCN.

The Canadian Light Source (CLS) helps Dr. Louis Delbaere, Canada Research Chair in Structural Biochemistry, accelerate protein crystal research.

Bio/Historical Note: Image appeared in 21 Sept. 2001 issue of OCN.

Lynn Guina, Director of Hospitality Services, stands outside the Catering Services office.

Head and shoulders image of Philip J. Hammel, Professor Emeritus of Curriculum Studies.

Exterior of the Poultry Science Building.

Head and shoulders image of Jan Smith, Business Services; taken outdoors.

Keith Taylor, Mathematics and Statistics, seated at his desk.

Head and shoulders image of Michael Bechtel, Manager of the Agricultural Biotechnology Initiative.

Allan Blakeney, former Premier of Saskatchewan and visiting scholar in the College of Law, sits on a stone wall outside the College of Law.

Bio/Historical Note: Born in Nova Scotia in 1925, Allan Emrys Blakeney studied law at Dalhousie University and was a Rhodes Scholar. Attracted by the progressive political agenda of the CCF under Tommy Douglas, he moved to Saskatchewan in 1950 and worked as a senior member of the civil service. Blakeney entered politics in 1960, and served in both the Douglas and Woodrow Lloyd administrations before becoming leader of the provincial NDP in 1970. In comparison with the Waffle movement on the far left, Blakeney was regarded as a moderate member of the NDP. Nonetheless, when he led the party to victory over the Liberal government under Ross Thatcher in 1971, he did implement a fairly radical agenda of nationalization in the oil and potash industries that aroused the ire of corporate Canada and even the U.S. government. By the late 1970s Blakeney was an elder statesman among Canadian premiers, and he played a key role in the patriation of the Canadian Constitution and the creation of the Charter of Rights in 1982. Along with Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, he was a strong advocate for provincial ownership of natural resources. Following a devastating defeat at the hands of the Grant Devine Conservatives in 1982, Blakeney stayed on as NDP leader and led the party back to respectability in the 1986 election. He stepped down as leader then, and was replaced by Roy Romanow. In the 1990s he served as a consultant in the Roy Romanow NDP government, and received a number of awards including the Saskatchewan Order of Merit and Order of Canada. He was also a past president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Blakeney died in 2012 in Saskatoon at age 85.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Janice MacKinnon, School of Public Health.

Bio/Historical Note: Janice MacKinnon, Ph.D, C.M., S.O.M., FRSC is a Canadian historian and former Minister of Finance for the Province of Saskatchewan under NDP Premier Roy Romanow. She is currently a professor in the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan.