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Chronology of Events during Walter Murray’s Tenure

1907

· University of Saskatchewan created:

  • University Act passed by the Legislative Assembly; receives royal assent 3 April
  • University Senate organized; held first meeting 13 November, in the Regina courthouse
  • Justice E.L. Wetmore elected Chancellor
  • D.P. McColl appointed Registrar

1908

· Framework in place:

  • First meeting of convocation, 8 January, at the Metropolitan Methodist Church, Regina
  • Board of Governors appointed; held first meeting 22 May
  • Walter Murray formally appointed President by the Board, 20 August

1909

  • Saskatoon selected as site
  • Board approves purchase of land: 1,170 acres for $112,240.00; 22 April initial sales: 1,300 acres for $147,906.00
  • Board approves appointments of faculty:
    • William Rutherford, Dean of Agriculture
    • John Bracken, Agriculture
    • Alexander Grieg, Agricultural Engineering and Superintendent of Buildings
    • George Ling, Mathematics and Dean of Arts
    • Arthur Moxon, Classics
    • Edmund Oliver, History
    • Reginald Bateman, English
  • Selection of [anticipated] colleges made:
    • Arts with Music, Art, and Commerce
    • Agriculture with Forestry and Domestic Science
    • Education
    • Engineering
    • Law
    • Medicine with Pharmacy
    • Dentistry
    • Veterinary Science
  • First examination given: matriculation exam for W.E. Lloyd, 23 September
  • First classes given, 29 September, in the Drinkle Building

1910

1911

  • Ceremony laying cornerstone for Regina College, a separate institution, held 25 October
  • Little Stone School rebuilt on campus
  • classes begin in the College of Agriculture
  • the University is only the second in Canada to offer Agricultural Engineering – in both cases, the course had been initiated by AR Grieg

1912

  • First class graduates
  • First buildings opened:
    • College [of Agriculture] Building (official opening in May 1913)
    • Emmanuel College
    • University Barn and Livestock Pavilion
    • Dean of Agriculture's Residence, now Faculty Club
    • Saskatchewan Hall
  • The Sheaf publishes first issue
  • Formal opening of Regina College, 14 October

1913

  • President's Residence built
  • instruction in Veterinary Science begins

1914

  • Department of Dairying established
  • Summer School, under the direction of the provincial Department of Education, begins on campus

1914-1918

  • At least 27 faculty and staff, 253 students and 65 alumni served during World War I; 1 faculty member and 68 students died

1916

  • Department of Poultry established

1917

  • Alumni Association formed
  • University takes over management of Summer School, and includes degree classes
  • University hosts conference on wheat rust

1918

  • Influenza epidemic: University residences quarantined; Emmanuel College used as emergency hospital by the City; 16 women staff and student volunteer nurses boarded at the President's residence; 2 students, one a volunteer aid, and 4 University employees died

1919

  • Department of Soil Science established
  • Four faculty members dismissed.
  • President Murray takes leave of absence; George H. Ling appointed Acting President (August 1919-February 1920)
  • Department of Bacteriology established
  • Evening classes for academic credit begin
  • WP Fraser heads first laboratory of plant pathology in Western Canada

1920

1921

  • College of Pharmacy established; classes previously given through Arts
  • Department of Ceramic Engineering established--the first in Canada
  • Department of Horticulture established

1922

  • Committee on Masters Degrees, with general oversight on graduate work, created

1924

  • The Department of Physics initiates a class in electron theory and atomic structure – an innovation in Canada at the time
  • Department of Electrical Engineering established
  • Honours courses in Chemical Engineering and Engineering Physics were created

1925

1926

1927

  • School of Education established

1928

  • School of Education given College status
  • School of Household Science established
  • Official opening, Memorial Gates, 4 May
  • E.L. Harrington introduces class in medical physics; an innovation at the time. 

1929

  • Correspondence Courses established
  • of 1,393 students who had earned a degree from the University by 1929, one in ten went on to pursue postgraduate education and of those who earned a PhD, 60% were either teaching in Canadian universities or were employed in public research institutions

1930

  • Senior faculty at the top of the pay scale receive 2% reduction in salary to accommodate slight increase in salary for junior staff

1930-1933

  • Provincial grant to University reduced by 40%
  • Faculty salaries cut by 19%

1931

1933

  • Unmarried faculty given a one year leave with 3 months pay
  • First University Farm Week hosted by University of Saskatchewan (later Farm and Home Week)
  • AFL Kenderdine (Art) and RA Wilson (English) join to offer a course combining art history, art appreciation and studio art

1934

1935

  • Course in Geological Engineering created

1936

  • St. Thomas More College established
  • College of Accounting established
  • Emma Lake summer art school founded
  • class in meteorology established
  • Department of Art formally established (Saskatoon campus)
  • bequest from Norman Mackenzie enables School of Fine Art to be established (Regina campus)
  • by 1936 Murray was able to report that the University had 16 Rhodes scholars, none of whom had received less than a second class in Honours: a better record of achievement than any other Canadian university at the time

1937