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
- 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
- Sod turning ceremony for College [of Agriculture] Building, 4 May
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier lays corner stone of first building, 29 July
- Provincial government transfers agricultural extension work to College of Agriculture
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
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
- Engineering Building burns
- Department of Farm Management established
1926
- Two-year School of Medical Sciences established
- Department of Physiology established
1927
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
1931
- School of Physical Education founded
- School of Music established
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
- class in climatology initiated
- Walter Murray resigns as President;
- J.S. Thomson appointed President