L: Foster, W. H. R : Lewis, Hal

Dr. George H. Ling (standing at far left), dean of Arts and Science, posing with a group (that includes two women) at an [American Association for the Advancement of Science] meeting.

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.

Lorne Gray, president, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), and University of Saskatchewan alumnus, at podium during College of Engineering Awards Day, Dais of dignitaries in background.

Charles Cecil Hay, Academic session speaker, at podium in Convocation Hall during the Engineering 50th Anniversary Reunion.

Dr. Neil B. Hutcheon, Academic session speaker, at podium in Convocation Hall during the Engineering 50th Anniversary Reunion.

Elevated view of attendees seated at tables during a stag luncheon at Bessborough Hotel.

View looking south of the contagious disease hospital site on the southeast corner of Cumberland Avenue and College Street (now Drive). Old Engineering Building at left; University (Main) Barn at right.

Bio/Historical ote: The City Hospital is the earliest of our 'not built' examples. In 1911 the City of Saskatoon approached the university about the possibility of building a hospital on campus. It was felt that until hospital facilities were fully developed on campus, the university would not move to establish a College of Medicine. The Board of Governors replied favourably and negotiations were opened. The first hurdle to be cleared was the question of location. The City asked for a site on the riverbank. The University wanted the land for itself, having recently turned down a similar request by the theological colleges. A site southeast of what is now College and Cumberland was agreed upon. The eight-acre parcel of land was to be leased for 49 years at a cost of $5 per annum with an option for another 49 years. The style of the architecture and material of construction had to be approved by the Board of Governors and, with the establishment of a College of Medicine, the University reserved the right to nominate one-half of the physicians and surgeons in attendance at the public wards of the hospital. On 12 December 1911, a referendum asked citizens to choose a site for a new hospital and approve a $300,000 expenditure for the construction. The money was approved and the university site won by a two-to-one margin over its alternative in City Park. Architects were engaged, sketches submitted and an excavation contract was signed in October 1912. The original funds proved to be inadequate. Another $185,000 was asked for and approved by the ratepayers but was never spent. The combination of a sagging economy, accelerating costs and World War I stalled and eventually ended the project. The city opted for the cheaper alternative of an addition to the City Park facility. The excavated hole remained a visible reminder of the failed scheme until 1932, when on Sunday, May 8, an eight year old boy drowned in the flooded pit when he fell from a raft he and his friends had built. Plans to fill-in the site were subsequently made.

Exterior shot of complete St. Andrew's College building.

Looking north at original St. Thomas More College building in winter.

Bio/Historical Note: Saint Thomas More College (STM) has the distinction of being the first and only federated college at the University of Saskatchewan. It was established as a Catholic college in 1936 following negotiations between Fr. Henry Carr of the Basilian Fathers of Toronto and President Walter Murray of the University of Saskatchewan, and was named for Thomas More, who had been canonized in 1935. Yet the pre-history of the college and its buildings goes back more than a decade earlier. For several years, Saskatoon Catholics had been asking for a Catholic college at the newly established University of Saskatchewan. The first step was taken in 1926, when a group of Catholic laymen established the Newman Society, with the long term goal of establishing a Catholic college at the university. By September of that year, "arrangements were in place for Fr. Dr. Basil Markle from the Archdiocese of Toronto to teach Scholastic Philosophy at the University of Saskatchewan and to serve as chaplain for the Catholic students." The first facility for the Catholic chaplain, with chapel and clubrooms for the use of the Catholic students, was Newman Hall (usually called "the white house"), built in 1927 on land on the south side of the campus at the corner of College Drive and Bottomley Avenue. This building later became St. Thomas More College in 1936 and in 1943 it was enlarged in anticipation of an expected large influx of students when the war would end. The first section of the present greystone building was constructed in 1954-1956 at a cost of $600,000; it was designed by architects Webster and Gilbert and built by Shannon Brothers of Saskatoon, for whom the college's Shannon Library is named. The new building was officially opened on 7 February 1957. Subsequent additions to the college building were completed in two phases, one in 1963 and another in 1969. This three-stage period of construction on the building translated into well over a decade of constant construction between 1954 and 1969, and included a chapel, library, cafeteria, auditorium, faculty offices, classrooms, and an art gallery. Living quarters on the third and fourth floors, used by the Basilian Fathers for many years, have been converted to offices and classroom space in recent years. Renovations since 2000 have involved changes to the auditorium, cafeteria, student and faculty lounges, library, art gallery and the rededication of some areas to use as classrooms.

Three firefighters battling the fire on the roof of the Faculty Club.

Bio/Historical Note: The Dean of Agriculture’s residence was among the first buildings on campus. Designed by Brown & Vallance of Montreal, the original plan called for a wood-clad structure but this was abandoned when the Board of Governors decided in May 1911 to use local greystone. Unlike several of the larger buildings, the Dean’s residence was built by university employees with the assistance of day labourers. Construction took less than a year and costs ran to nearly $25,000. Sometimes known as the “Grey Gables,” the building’s first resident was W.J. Rutherford, first Dean of Agriculture. The location of the house, on the campus close to the University Farm, reflected the unique relationship of the Agricultural College with the University. In addition to a family residence, the adjourning grounds were used on occasion as the site for outdoor receptions and social gatherings. Talk of starting a Faculty Club at the University of Saskatchewan started in 1921, but a club was not established until 1927. The centre for the club was a reading room in the College (Administration) Building; and the club's major purpose became sponsoring a series of lectures by faculty members. Slowly, over the years, the club was also opened to other than faculty members: in 1937, government researchers were allowed to join; as were senior administrative personnel in 1959; and by 1962, a degree was no longer a requirement of membership.
A controversial issue of the 1940s was to admit women members of faculty to the club. At a 19 November 1943 meeting, J.R. Fraser moved, seconded by J.B. Harrington, that women members of staff be admitted to the Faculty Club.” There was an amendment, moved by J.F. Leddy, seconded by A.P. Arnason “That the name of the club be changed to the Men’s Faculty Club.” The amendment carried. So the club was called the Men’s Faculty Club for four years, until 21 March 1947 when on a motion of Ansten Anstenson, seconded by J.B. Harrington “that the name of the club be changed to the University of Saskatchewan Faculty Club and that women members of the faculty be admitted.” Carried. The last Dean to live in the house was V.E. Graham who moved out in 1961 so the building could be converted into a Faculty Club, which opened in 1962. The building underwent two more renovations in 1966 and 1975. The latter was the most extensive, at a cost of $607,961, and established the footprint of the building as it exists today. At 3:00 pm on 19 September 1972, a fire that had been smoldering in the roof insulation for hours became apparent inside the club. The building was evacuated and an alarm called into the City of Saskatoon Fire Department. Six units were eventually dispatched to battle the “stubborn” fire before a crowd of several hundred onlookers. No one was injured and the building was saved from catastrophic damage. By 1974, most administrative officers were permitted to join. The Faculty Club is now known as the University Club (2020).

Eerie image of the northeast entrance of the Memorial Union Building (MUB) lit up at night.

Exterior view of the Linear Accelerator Building.

Bio/Historical Note: The building of the Linear Accelerator (Linac) was not a random event but rather the result of a series of developments on campus. The Department of Physics had over the previous decades built a reputation for experimentation and innovation. The post-war period saw the University of Saskatchewan in the forefront of nuclear physics in Canada. In 1948, Canada’s first betatron (and the world’s first used in the treatment of cancer) was installed on campus. It was used for research programs in nuclear physics, radiation chemistry, cancer therapy and radiation biology. Next the world’s first non-commercial cobalt-60 therapy unit for the treatment of cancer was officially opened in 1951. With this unit research was undertaken in the areas of radiological physics, radiation chemistry and the effects of high energy radiation on plants and animals. When the construction of the Linear Accelerator was announced in the fall of 1961, it was portrayed as the next logical step on the University’s research path. Varian Associates, Palo Alto, California, designed and built the accelerator with Poole Construction of Saskatoon employed as the general contractor. The 80 foot electron accelerator tube was to create energy six times that of the betatron. The cost of the $1,750,000 facility was split between the National Research Council and the University of Saskatchewan with the NRC meeting the cost of the equipment and the University assuming the costs of the building. The official opening in early November of 1964 was more than just a few speeches and the cutting of a ribbon. It was a physics-fest, with 75 visiting scientist from around the world in attendance presenting papers and giving lectures over the period of several days. Three eminent physicists were granted honorary degrees at the fall convocation and hundreds of people showed up for the public open house. For three decades the Linac has served the campus research community and will continue to do so as it has become incorporated into the Canadian Light Source synchrotron.

Looking southeast at Emmanuel College.

Progress shot of construction of north wing of Murray Library.

Bio/Historical Note: Though the first recorded withdrawal from the University Library occurred in October 1909, nearly five decades passed before the Library had its own building. The early collection was housed either on the second floor of the College Building (later known as the Administration Building) or was scattered among a number of small departmental libraries. Plans for a new library building in the late 1920s were ended by the start of the Great Depression; but a dramatically reduced acquisitions budget was offset by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation in 1933. In 1943 the University hired its first professional Librarian. A combination of provincial grants and University fundraising financed the construction of the Murray Memorial Library. The library was named after the University’s first President, Walter C. Murray. Designed by noted Regina architect Kioshi Izumi working under H.K. Black, Architect, it marked a change in campus architecture away from the more angular and elaborate Collegiate Gothic style to that of the less expensive cube. Building materials included granite at the entrance and Tyndall stone as a wall cladding and window trim. In addition to the library, the building housed the College of Law, an office of the Provincial Archives and a 105-seat lecture theatre equipped with the latest in audiovisual teaching aids. The most dramatic transformation took place between 1970 and 1976 when a six floor south wing was added along with an extensive renovation of the 1956 structure. Designed by BLM, Regina, the south wing was unlike any other building on campus. Clad in Tyndall stone panels made to look like concrete (through a "bush hammered" finish), the grey almost windowless building is industrial and utilitarian in appearance. The University's master plan required buildings in the core of campus to be clad in stone. However, the "bush hammered" finish was used since the Library addition was built during a period that saw the flowering of "Brutalist" Architecture, so called because of the wide use of exposed concrete. The new (south) wing, originally called the Main Library, was officially opened on 17 May 1974, and also became the home of the Department of Art and Art History, the College of Graduate Studies and the University Archives.