Head and shoulders image of Peggy McKercher, Chancellor Emerita.

Bio/Historical Note: Margaret L. (Peggy) Wilton McKercher was born in Manitoba on 17 April 1929. She attended City Park Collegiate and enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan in 1947, graduating in 1950 with a BA. She remained at the University for two years working with the Physical Education staff, while her husband, Robert McKercher, finished law school at the U of S. The couple then moved to Massachusetts where Robert completed a master's in Law at Harvard Law School and McKercher taught and supported him. The McKerchers then went to Toronto where Robert pursued a doctorate. They then returned to Saskatoon where Robert articled with Justice Emmett Hall, before joining a law firm in Ottawa for six years. The couple later returned to Saskatoon. Peggy McKercher was heavily involved in athletics all her life. During her time at the U of S she participated in eight University teams. Every team was either a city, provincial and/or intervarsity championship team. Her basketball squad won the Cecil Race Trophy for three consecutive years, and her track and field team won the Rutherford Trophy three consecutive times as well. McKercher also participated on the University swim team. She was a member of the Women’s Athletic Board, and served as president from 1949 to 1950. McKercher was awarded the University of Saskatchewan Major Athletics Award in 1950 and was inducted into the U of S Hall of Fame in 1984. There is an academic and athletic scholarship presented to students in honour of Peggy McKercher. She served as eleventh U of S Chancellor for two terms, from 1995 until 2001. As Chancellor McKercher acted as both a member and chair of the University Senate and as a member of the Board of Governors. McKercher was invested into the Order of Canada in March 1995 for her active volunteer work in the Saskatoon community and her “dynamic leadership [that] has helped strengthen the Authority's valuable work in preserving the Saskatchewan River Valley environment.” McKercher received the Saskatoon Citizen of the Year award in 1989. She was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2001 and in 2002 was presented an honourary Doctor of Laws by the U of S.