Oval-shaped head and shoulders image of Dr. A.R. Greig, professor of Mechanical Engineering, 1909-1937, and superintendent of Buildings, 1909-1939.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Alexander Rodger Greig was one of the first professors appointed at the University of Saskatchewan and also served as superintendent of Buildings. Born in 1872, raised and educated in Montreal, Dr. Greig graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University in 1895. After graduation he became successively chief draughtsman of the Mechanical Departments of the Canada Atlantic Railway and the Canadian Northern Railway. In 1906 Dr. Greig entered upon his career as an academic with his appointment as professor of Agricultural Engineering at the Manitoba Agricultural College in Winnipeg. In 1909 he accepted two appointments at the University of Saskatchewan: professor of Mechanical Engineering, held until 1937, and superintendent of Buildings, held until 1939. From 1939-1943 he was acting professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta. Dr. Greig died in Saskatoon in 1947.

Formal portrait of Jean Bayer, Department of English, 1915-1945.

Bio/Historical Note: Jean Gordon Bayer joined the staff of the university in 1909 as President Walter Murray's secretary. Bayer previously had been his secretary at Dalhousie University. She arrived in Saskatoon in time to witness the registration of the first students. She was the President’s secretary, university librarian, and unofficial adviser to students. Bayer helped choose the university colours and motto, and was one of the founders of the Pente Kai Deka Society. In 1915, due to staff shortages caused by the Great War, Bayer was appointed Instructor in English. She proved so effective she was encouraged to continue, and took a year of study at Bedford College, London, prior to being formally appointed to the faculty. Like Murray, “she possessed a wide vision of the function of a university and, like him, she…dedicated herself to Saskatchewan.” “A most kindly guide” to her students, “many caught their first glimpse of what a literary ‘salon’ of the great days might have been in the genial atmosphere of tea and literature in her book-lined suite. She was a most loyal and cooperative colleague….She made it seem an easy thing to be happy and brave.” When Bayer returned from London in 1921 she was named Assistant Professor of English, a rank rarely held by women in that period. Bayer retained the post until her death in 1945. A scholarship in her name is available to a student who has completed at least two years of university studies.

Children sit around a large table with little Christmas trees decorated for Christmas. Women stand around the edge of the room, from left to right: Mrs. Riches, Molly Cameron, Nan McKay, Dorothy Riches, Mrs. S. Lindsay, Jean Henry, Mrs. Bateman, Ms. Storment (dietician).

Bio/Historical Note: The President’s Residence is among the original buildings constructed on campus. The residence was designed by Brown and Vallance, and was built under the direction of A.R. Greig, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds. The building was originally planned as a wooden structure. However, a proposal to construct the building out of a local river rock, later known as greystone, was raised prior to the commencement of construction - if the government would foot the bill. Eventually the latter material was chosen, though the government perhaps came to regret its decision. Construction on the President's Residence began in 1910 and finished in early 1913. By the time it was completed the original cost for the building had ballooned from $32,000 to $44,615. Walter Murray, the first president of the University, was deeply embarrassed by the cost of what was to be his personal residence, even though it was also a public building. However, the people of Saskatoon were proud of the building and the status it gave their University, and no public outcry over the cost ever materialized. Renovations to the President's Residence were completed in 1989 by PCL-Maxam at a cost of $96,752. The renovations were designed by architects Malkin/Edwards.

Men in suits standing in front of the College Building; car parked in front.

Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 Mar. 1925.

Graduation photo of John Bracken, graduate of [Ontario Agricultural College].

Bio/Historical Note: John Bracken (1883-1969) was born in Ellisville, Ontario, and was educated at Brockville Collegiate, the Ontario Agricultural College and at the University of Illinois. He was professor of animal husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan from 1910-1920, when he became President of the Manitoba Agricultural College. Bracken was the longest-serving Premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–1948).

Photograph of Fred Shepherd

An empty lecture hall with a poster featuring turkeys and the words "University of Saskatchewan Extension Dept." View from back of classroom looking towards blackboard.

View of construction of Engineering Building addition.

Bio/historical note: The original Engineering Building was destroyed by fire on Friday, 13 Mar. 1925.

View of the southeast corner of Saskatchewan Hall, showing tennis courts.

Men working at a separator and standing beside a tractor.

Tractor and five binders at work in a grain field; [Sutherland] grain elevator in background.

Threshing machines stored in the Tractor Laboratory.

Men, boys and horses standing in a row; boys holding papers in their hands. Location unknown.

Field Husbandry (later Crop Science) class in session; view from back of class looking towards professor.

Bio/Historical Note: The Field Husbandry Building was conceived and constructed as a direct result of the fire that destroyed the Engineering Building in 1925. The Department of Field Husbandry, which had moved to Engineering four years earlier, lost its entire seed stock to the blaze. The Engineering Building that rose from the ashes was not, however, to include the Department of Field Husbandry. They were to have their own new and separate structure. Designed by David Brown, the stone clad structure was finished in 1929 at a cost of $260,000 and contained offices, classrooms and laboratories. The building also acted as a screen to mask the brick portion of campus from the buildings around the Bowl. In 1937 an addition, designed by local architect and University lecturer G.J.K. Verbeke, extended the building northward. The School of Medical Science moved into the addition from their cramped quarters in the College Building and stayed until the completion of the Medical College in 1950. Field Husbandry changed its name to Crop Science in 1962 and remained in the building until the College of Agriculture Building was completed in 1991. In 1997 the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology moved into the building, which was renamed accordingly. The Department of Anthropology was amalgamated with the Department of Religious Studies and relocated from the building in 2002; the building was subsequently renamed the Archaeology Building.