Dr. Allan Van Cleave (right), professor of Chemistry, with his arm in a cast, and an unidentified female assistant observe a male student working with machinery.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Allan Bishop Van Cleave, known as “Van”, was born on 19 August 1910 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. He obtained BSc (1931) and MSc (1933) degrees in chemistry from the University of Saskatchewan. After earning PhD degrees from McGill and Cambridge, he joined the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the U of S in 1937, where he built a reputation as an educator and researcher in surface chemistry. In 1962 Dr. Van Cleave became chairman of the Division of Natural Sciences at Regina Campus. He was appointed director of the School of Graduate Studies in 1965 and then dean in 1969. For five years Dr. Van Cleave also was dean of Graduate Studies, which oversaw graduate education on both campuses of the University. From 1974 until his retirement in 1980, he continued as dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Regina. Dr. Van Cleave is best known for his work in designing the new high school chemistry curriculum in the 1960s. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, and a member of many organizations such as the Defence Research Board, the Faraday Society, the Saskatchewan Research Council, and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He also served as chair of the Canadian Services College Advisory Board (1965) and as president of the U of S Alumni Association (1949-1951). He received the Centennial Medal (1967), the Order of Canada (1976), and an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Regina (1980). Dr. Van Cleave died on 27 April 1992.