G.A. Hill, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, and Beverly E. Quail prepare to inoculate the Packed Bed Slime Reactor (vertical column between them) with a culture of bacteria.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Bibiana Cujec, assistant professor of Medicine.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Bibiana Cujec was an assistant professor of Medicine in the College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, from 1988-1991. She was visiting associate professor of Medicine, Cardiovascular Imaging and Hemodynamic Laboratory at the New England Medical Center, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, from 1993-1994. From 1989-1996 she was director of the Noninvasive Cardiac Laboratory at Royal University Hospital (RUH) in Saskatoon, and was director of the RUH Cardiology Training Program from 1989-1997. Dr. Cujec was an associate professor of Medicine from 1991-1997 and was full professor of Medicine from 1997-1999. From 1998-2000 she was a clinical associate professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta. She was appointed associate professor of Medicine at the U of A from 2000-2008. Dr. Cujec is professor of Medicine, Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute Professor of Medicine at the University of Alberta (2023).

Head and shoulders image of Eli Bornstein, Professor of Art.

Bio/Historical Note: Eli Bornstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 28 Deember.1922. He received his BA (1945) and MA (1954) in Art from the University of Wisconsin. He then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the University of Chicago, in Paris at the Academie Julian and the Academie Montmartre of Fernand Leger. Bornstein joined the faculty of the University of Saskatchewan in 1950. Bornstein has an extensive record of juried exhibitions, and commissioned works. His construction for the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation building in 1956 was the first public abstract sculpture in Saskatchewan (if not western Canada). Other commissioned work was created for the Winnipeg International Airport; the Wascana Centre; and the Canadian Light Source, among others. He is represented in numerous public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canada Council Art Bank, and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. In 1958 while on sabbatical, Bornstein met Dutch artist/scholar Joost Baljeu. Together they founded and co-edited the first issue of an art periodical, Structure. In 1960 Bornstein published the first edition of The Stucturist, an international art journal currently distributed in over 35 countries. The Structurist is multi-disciplinary: in recalling the first issue, one reviewer was "frankly amazed at the ambitious courage of the magazine, the quality of its design, and the embracing intelligence of the contents." Bornstein has served as editor since its inception. Upon his retirement from the U of S in 1990, Bornstein was awarded an honourary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) degree. He was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2008, and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2019. Bornstein continues to edit and publish The Structurist and remains an active artist and writer (2021).

Head and shoulders image of Ishwar C. Gupta, professor of Physics from 1962-1992, and assistant dean of Arts and Science from 1980-1981 (retired in 1992).

Head and shoulders image of Ray Hnatyshyn, Governor General of Canada, possibly taken at time of presentation of an honourary Doctor of Laws degree.

Bio/Historical Note: Ramon John Hnatyshyn, a Ukrainian Canadian, was born in Saskatoon in 1934 to Helen Hnatyshyn and her husband, John, whose political links and friendship with John Diefenbaker, the future prime minister, would provide his son with frequent exposure to high-calibre political debate. He attended Victoria Public School and Nutana Collegiate Institute. He attend the University of Saskatchewan, earning there in 1954 a Bachelor of Arts and, two years later, a Bachelor of Law. Hnatyshyn played clarinet in the playful group College Nine. The University of Saskatchewan publication Green and White report that he was known as “King of the Belly Laugh” by longtime friends and classmates. Hnatyshyn married Gerda Andreasen (1935-2023) (BSc. Sask) in 1960. Beginning his legal practice in 1957, Hnatyshyn ran unsuccessfully for the provincial Conservatives in 1964 and taught in the U of S College of Law. Hnatyshyn was elected federally as a Progressive Conservative in 1974, and held a number of posts including government house leader, Minister of Mines, Energy and Resouces, Minister of Justice and Attorney General. He was defeated in 1988. As Governor General of Canada from 1990-1995, Ray and Gerda Hnatyshyn were celebrated for bringing a friendly, approachable energy to the role and Rideau Hall. They founded the Governor General’s Summer Concert Series, reopened a historic skating rink, started the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and an award for volunteerism in the arts. After leaving the office of Governor General, he returned to practicing law and was chancellor of Carleton University. He died, after a battle with cancer, in Ottawa in 2002 at age 68. Canada Post created a stamp in his honour in 2004, and a statue of him stands by the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon.

Sculpture on display.

Bio/Historical Note: The Museum of Antiquities is an archaeological museum at the University of Saskatchewan. It opened in 1974 to provide an opportunity to study ancient works. The Museum currently features a variety of Greek and Roman sculpture, and contains a collection of Near Eastern, Egyptian, Byzantine, Islamic and Medieval art. It is one of only a handful of museums of its kind in Canada. The project which became the “Museum of Antiquities” began in 1974. It was initiated by ancient history historian Michael Swan and art historian Nicholas Gyenes, both professors of the University of Saskatchewan. The collection began with a small group of replicas purchased from the Louvre, but grew to include replicas from other museums and workshops, as well as original artifacts. The collection grew through the generosity of the University and private benefactors until, in 1981, new facilities in the Murray Library were acquired, the collection was officially opened as the “Museum of Antiquities”, and Catherine Gunderson became the first curator and director of the museum. In 2005, the ever-expanding Museum moved to a larger space in the newly renovated College Building now known as the Peter MacKinnon Building. Tracene Harvey became director in 2009. The long-term aim of the Museum is to offer a reliable and critical account of the artistic accomplishments of major Western civilizations and epochs from approximately 3000 BC to 1500 CE. The first step in this endeavor was the presentation of a dependable picture of ancient Greco-Roman sculptural art, as it has heavily influenced much later Western art. The present collection focuses on items from the Middle Helladic (c. 1500 BCE) to the Late Antique (c. 500 CE) period and now has expanded to include pieces from the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. The Museum's pieces mainly consist of plaster cast replicas, making the collection one of a few cast collections in Canada, and the only one in Saskatchewan. The replicas in the Museum are, in general, not crafted from the same material as the original. Most are casts of plaster or resin, not marble or bronze, for reasons of expense and weight. The replicas by large workshops—such as those at the Louvre, Paris, the British Museum, London, and the Gipsformerei der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin—are created from moulds taken directly from the original pieces. They therefore replicate exactly any damage borne by the original. After the plaster cast is unmoulded, it is painted and given a surface finish which matches the original. The collection has replicas of several famous pieces, such as the Rosetta Stone and the Venus de Milo. The collection features original sculpture such as the 17th century portrait of Hannibal. Other original pieces include a storage amphora, a false door and a substantial collection of ancient glass.

This fonds contains correspondence with colleagues, students and friends, subject files including information on the role of scientists in public affairs and education, nuclear energy, labour relations, various University of Saskatchewan committees and the Department of Physics, lecture and research notes, articles, reports and work that was in progress at the time of Dr. Skinner's death. There is also a substantial section of reference material.