Head and shoulders image of Edith J. McKenzie, lecturer in English.

Bio/Historical Note: Edith Jessie McKenzie earned a BA from the University of Saskatchewan. She taught and later served as principal at Kindersley, Saskatchewan, where the school was named for her after her death. McKenzie was an instructor in English at the University of Saskatchewan by 1922; she also was Dean of Women. Later in her career she taught English at the University of British Columbia. McKenzie died in Vancouver General Hospital in 1965.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. John Allan Macdonald, first Professor of French, 1910-1939.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. John Allan Macdonald was born at Rock Barra, Souris, Prince Edward Island. He was educated at Prince of Wales College at Charlottetown, PEI. He earned a BA at Laval (1898) and an MA at Harvard (1907). Dr. Macdonald was the first professor of French at the University of Saskatchewan (1910-1939).
After World War I a plague descended on the University in the form of the Spanish influenza pandemic. In response, when the city took the step of turning Emmanuel College into an emergency hospital, a number of university women immediately volunteered to nurse the sick. They did so under the direction of Mrs. John Allan Macdonald, a nurse.
In April 1926 a group of Saskatoon Catholic laity, including Dr. Macdonald, formed a group called the Newman Society, to work actively for the creation of a Catholic college for the recently established University of Saskatchewan. Through a land transfer in the 1920s, four building lots on campus owned by Dr. Macdonald were resold to the Roman Catholic Church. In due course, these lots became the home of St. Thomas More College. Dr. Macdonald authored the book Introduction to French. ‘Macdonald Crescent’ in Greystone Heights in Saskatoon is named in his honour.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. C.J. Mackenzie, first Dean of Engineering, in uniform of the 196th Western Universities Battalion during World War I.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Chalmers Jack (CJ) Mackenzie was born in 1888 in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and earned a BEng at Dalhousie University in 1909. In 1912 he was hired to develop an engineering program at the University of Saskatchewan. During World War I Dr. Mackenzie served with the 54th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (1915-1918). After the war he continued at the U of S until 1932, when he took a leave of absence to supervise public works projects. In 1939 he left Saskatchewan for Ottawa to become president of the National Research Council. Dr. Mackenzie served as president of the National Research Council, first president of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, first president of Atomic Energy Control Board and instrumental in the development of science and engineering education in Canada. In 1949 he sat on the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, the so-called "Massey Commission", one objective of which was developing Canada's system of publicly funded research. Among many honours Dr. Mackenzie received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the U of S in 1945. In 1967 Mackenzie was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. CJ Mackenzie died in Ottawa in 1984 at age 95. The U of S College of Engineering’s annual Distinguished Lecture Series was started in 1976 to honour alumni who have achieved positions of eminence in the profession. On its 10th anniversary the event was renamed for Dr. Mackenzie, to recognize the contribution he made to the college, the university and the engineering profession. By 2022 the series was named the C.J. Mackenzie Gala of Engineering Excellence.

Image of William C. McNamara, honourary Doctor of Laws degree recipient; possibly taken at time of presentation.

Bio/Historical Note: William Craig McNamara was born in 1904 in Winnipeg, Manitoba but raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. In 1923, McNamara found work with the Standard Bank of Canada but left in 1924 to become an office boy with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. McNamara joined the Canadian Wheat Board in 1942 and was appointed commissioner in 1955 becoming assistant chief commissioner in 1947 and then chief commissioner in 1958. McNamara held that position until 1970 when he was appointed to the Senate where he sat as a Liberal representing Manitoba. McNamara retired from the upper house in 1979. McNamara died in 1984.

Head and shoulders image of George E. McCraney, member, University Board of Governors.

Bio/Historical Note: Born in Bothwell, Ontario, George Ewan McCraney was educated at the University of Toronto where he graduated a B.A. in 1892 and an LL.B. in 1895. He was first returned to the House of Commons at a by-election held in February 1906 for the riding of Saskatchewan, after the resignation of the sitting MP, John Henderson Lamont. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1908 and 1911 for the riding of Saskatoon. He did not stand for re-election in 1917. He died in 1921 at age 52.

Head and shoulders image of Duncan P. McColl, first University Registrar.

Bio/Historical Note: The first University employee was Duncan P. McColl, Registrar. This was one of two administrative positions named in the University Act of 1907. The other was President, which would not be filled for another year. McColl had been appointed Deputy Minister of Education in 1905 and would remain so until 1912. When he was named Registrar, the university was a concept — there were no buildings, faculty or staff. McColl was seen as an able administrator and quickly began the work of establishing convocation. This, in turn, elected the Senate which would create the Board of Governors. McColl resigned as Registrar in 1914 and was immediately named Secretary of the Board, where he served for another two decades. McColl was awarded an honourary degree from the U of S in 1928. Duncan McColl died in Vancouver in 1949.

Head and shoulders image of Malcolm F. Munro, professor, St. Andrew's College.

Bio/Historical Note: Rev. Malcolm Fraser Munro (1875-1955) M.A., B.D. (Queen’s). Honourary Lecturer on Hebrew, became Bursar and Lecturer in Practical Theology. He died in Saskatoon in 1955.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. John Mitchell, head, Department of Soils, College of Agriculture.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. John Mitchell was born in 1897 at Bradwardine, Manitoba, and moved with his family to a farm near Marsden, Saskatchewan. He enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan in 1915, interrupting his studies to serve in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces from 1916-1918. He saw action in France as an officer in the artillery division and, wounded in 1917, he returned home. Dr. Mitchell completed his BSA in 1924 at the U of S and joined the Saskatchewan Soil Survey that same year. While a student he had worked summers with the Soldiers Settlement Board, assisting returning veterans to become farmers. In 1925 Dr. Mitchell became an instructor in the College of Agriculture and continued his work mapping soils and measuring their chemical and physical properties. He did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, then one of the leading universities in soil science, completing an MSc in 1929 and a PhD in 1931 before returning to the U of S. Dr. Mitchell was appointed professor and head of the Department of Soils in 1935, positions that he held for the rest of his career. He was regarded internationally as a distinguished scientist. He was the first president of the Saskatchewan Agricultural Graduates Association; he also was inducted into the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame. The John Mitchell Building, once the Soils and Dairy Building and presently the home of the Department of Drama, recognizes his contribution to the U of S. Dr. Mitchell died suddenly while in harness in 1955. Mitchell Street in Greystone Heights honours Dr. Mitchell.

John G. Diefenbaker in graduation cap and robes.

Dr. Jim Pepper, professor of Chemistry, reading a newspaper in an airplane on his way to University Day, Yorkton Branch, U of S Alumni.

Head and shoulders image of Martin Ruby, Huskie football line coach.

Bio/Historical Note: Martin Owen Ruby (1922-2002) was an offensive tackle and defensive tackle for the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the All-America Football Conference; New York Yanks of the National Football League; and the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union. Ruby played for the Roughriders from 1951-1957. He was selected as one of six Roughriders named to the 1956 Canadian Press Western Interprovincial Football Union All-Star Team. Ruby and a teammate, defensive back Larry Isbell (who also had a University of Saskatchewan Huskies football connection), barely missed taking an ill-fated Vancouver to Montreal Trans-Canada Airlines plane which experienced engine failure above Hope, British Columbia, on 10 December 1956. They had tickets on the following flight to Montreal after passing on the earlier flight. The missing plane's pilot turned back at Princeton, British Columbia, while facing snow and ice. The Trans Canada airliner, carrying 62 people, went down in the Chilliwack Mountain region of British Columbia. Ruby had just finished playing in the East–West All-Star Game.

Head and shoulders image of Joseph W. Sifton, Superintendent of Education in Moose Jaw, and early member of the University of Saskatchewan Senate.

Bio/Historical Note: Joseph W. Sifton received an honourary degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1932 in recognition of his eminent services to education in Saskatchewan.

Head and shoulders image of Frank H. Underhill, Department of History, 1914-1927.

Bio/Historical Note: Frank Hawkins Underhill was born in 1889 in Stouffville, Ontario, He was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford where he was a member of the Fabian Society. He was influenced by social and political critics such as Bernard Shaw and Goldwin Smith. Underhilln taught history at the University of Saskatchewan from 1914 until 1927 with a long interruption during World War I during which he served as an officer in the Hertfordshire Regiment of the British Army on the Western Front. He also taught from 1927 until 1955 at the U of T. He left there due to a dispute with the administration and later joined the faculty at Carleton University. During the Great Depression, Underhill joined several other left wing academics in forming the League for Social Reconstruction. He was also a founder of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and helped write its Regina Manifesto in 1933. Underhill joined the editorial staff of the leftist Canadian Forum in 1927 where he wrote a column of political commentary called "O Canada" from 1929 on and served for a time as chair of that journal's editorial board. Despite these progressive leanings, Underhill had a conservative view of the historical profession and impeded the careers of several women historians. During World War II, Underhill moved away from socialism and became a left-wing liberal continentalist. He remained a committed anti-imperialist and was almost dismissed from the U of T in 1941 for suggesting that Canada would drift away from the British Empire and draw closer to the United States. Underhill’s struggle with the university became a landmark in the history of academic freedom in Canada. Underhill's most important writings are collected in the 1960 book of essays, In Search of Canadian Liberalism. In the essays Underhill covered many Canadian concerns such as politics before and after the Canadian Confederation, relations with the United States and Britain and assessments of the actions of Canadian public figures. Underhill's other notable works include Canadian Political Parties, 1957; The Image of Confederation, 1964; and Upper Canadian Politics in the 1850s, 1967. Underhill was a strong supporter of the United States during the Cold War. He also became a supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada, particularly once his long-time friend, Lester Pearson joined the government. In his later years, Underhill served as a lecturer and Chair of the Department of History at Carleton University in Ottawa. He received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree in 1962 from the U of S. In 1967 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Underhill died in 1971.

Head and shoulders image of Dr. Terry Tollefson, assistant professor of Agriculture.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Terrance Stephen (Terry) Tollefson was born in Moose Jaw on 19 March 1951 and grew up on the family farm west of Mossbank, Saskatchewan. He took most of his schooling in Vantage and Mazenod then completed grade 12 at Mossbank School. Upon graduation Dr. Tollefson moved to Saskatoon to attend the University of Saskatchewan, obtaining a BSc in Biology (1973) and an MSc in Soil Science (1976). Dr. Tollefson joined the College of Agriculture at the U of S in 1983 as assistant professor and taught Soil Science classes. In 2005 he accepted a full time appointment in the college relating to the new Agronomy programs for both diploma and degree. Dr. Tollefson died on 24 February [2013] in Saskatoon.

Oval-shaped head and shoulders image of Douglas J. Thom, Regina lawyer and member of University Senate.

Bio/Historical Note: Douglas J. Thom was born in 1879 and educated in Ontario. He received his BA from the University of Toronto and studied law at Osgoode Hall. Thom was admitted to the bar in 1903 and was appointed King's Counsel in 1917. He served on the Regina Collegiate Board from 1913-1926 and was a member of the Board of Governors of Regina College from 1910-1934. He was president of the Civic Relief Fund and the first president of the Regina Community Chest. Thom was author of The Canadian Torrens System, a treatise which has since become a standard text in law libraries across Canada. A high school in Regina was named “Thom Collegiate” in 1963. Douglas Thom died in 1964.