Guests mingle at a reception in Faculty Club in honour of J.W.T. Spinks, University President, after investiture as a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Bio/Historical Note: John William Tranter Spinks was born in 1908 at Methwold, England. He received his PhD in Science in 1930 from the University of London and that same year joined the University of Saskatchewan as assistant professor of Chemistry. While on leave in Germany in 1933 he worked with Gerhard Herzberg, future Nobel prize winner in Chemistry, and was instrumental in bringing him to Canada. In 1938 Dr. Spinks became a full professor of Chemistry. During World War II Dr. Spinks developed search-and-rescue operations for the Royal Canadian Air Force and took part in the early work on atomic energy. His scientific research led to major international achievements in radiation chemistry and his work included over 200 scientific papers. Dr. Spinks was appointed head of the department of Chemistry in 1948 and dean of the College of Graduate Studies in 1949. He was installed as President of the University, which he led through a very active period of development from 1959-1975. Dr. Spinks received many honours: Companion of the Order of Canada (1970); the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame (1982), Saskatoon's Citizen of the Year (1985), and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1996). He married Mary Strelioff (1910-1999) on 5 June 1939 in Rugby Chapel on the U of S grounds. Dr. Spinks died in 1997 in Saskatoon at age 89. ‘Spinks Drive’ in College Park honours Dr. Spinks. The north-facing four-story Spinks Addition, completed in 2006, is home to the departments of Computer Science and Chemistry.