Curator: Patrick Hayes, assisted by Amy Putman and Stevie Horn. Artwork selected by Blair Barbeau (University Art Collection)
Locations: Murray Library - Ground, Link Gallery, Room 301
On May the 3rd, 1917, five years after the University of Saskatchewan granted its first earned degrees, a group of alumni formed the Graduates’ Association. Their objectives were threefold: a) To further the interests of the Graduates of the University of Saskatchewan, both individually and collectively. b) To unite the graduates of the University of Saskatchewan in an organized body so that they may exert a salutary influence upon legislation concerning matters of general welfare within the Province. c) To obtain representation on the Senate of the University of Saskatchewan in the Legislative Assembly and on the boards of other influential organizations, with a view to furthering the aforesaid objects of the Association. Three years later the Association had a constitution and three seats on the University Senate. In 1924, the Graduates’ Association undertook its first major task, raising funds for a Great War memorial to honor the sixty-nine students, faculty and staff who "passed out of the sight of man by the path of duty and self-sacrifice". The result was the Memorial Gates, officially unveiled in 1928. 1939 saw transformation with a name change, a new constitution and the launch of its own periodical, The Green and White. Now known as the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association, membership was open to “any student who had attended for two years or a person who was married to a graduate”. Eventually it opened to those who had attended for one year. A second major capital-funding project was the Memorial Union Building or MUB. It was designed to serve as a memorial to the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Saskatchewan who perished overseas in the First and Second World Wars. It opened on November 11, 1955. The University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association continues to grow in size and scope. It has members across the globe but it is more than social network. 2017 marks 100 years of service to the university community and the world beyond.
In honour of the 100th anniversary of the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association, the University Library presents an exhibition showcasing University Collections featuring former students and graduates. The exhibition brings together material from the University Archives, Special Collections and the University Art Collection. Artifacts, film, books, documents and works of art fill three Library gallery spaces. This exhibition will be open to the public for most of May, but as part of Alumni Weekend, exhibition curators from University Archives & Special Collections will be on hand to provide tours on Friday, May 19, 2017. That day only, the Nobel medal presented to Henry Taube will be added to the exhibition. Taube (B.Sc. 1935, M.Sc. 1937) is the only Nobel laureate to graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, and the only Saskatchewan-born Nobel laureate.