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The Alumni of Influence Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding alumni whose remarkable achievements and contributions are having an impact on their fields, their community and the university.

College of Arts and Science Alumni of Influence recipients are shaping the future

The awards celebrate outstanding alumni of the USask College of Arts and Science

Dale Botting (BSc’75, BSc’75, BEd’77)

Dale Botting is a high-profile Canadian business leader and CEO with a 50-year diverse and rewarding career in the public sector, environment and leadership across the private, institutional and non-profit sectors.

Born in Prince Albert, Sask., Botting moved with his family to Saskatoon when he was young to attend high school at Evan Hardy Collegiate. At USask, he earned a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Biology and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geography in 1975 and completed a Bachelor of Education in 1977. Botting began his career as an ecologist and environmental planner prior to becoming a business leader.

Describing himself as a “serial CEO,” Botting served as the founding CEO of Enterprise Saskatchewan, appointed after first serving as deputy minister of the former Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation beginning in 2007. He led the “design‑build” phase of the new agency and later guided its early strategic direction and restructuring efforts when it formally launched in 2008.

He is a past vice-president for Western Canada with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and a former CEO of several major Saskatchewan organizations, including the Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), the Saskatchewan Association of Rehabilitation Centres, and SARCAN Recycling. He is the founder of Botting Leadership Inc. and the Global Alliance for Professional Leadership Development, where he coaches CEOs, university leadership, and executives across North America, Europe and Africa.

He is the author of Nobody from Nowhere: A Story of Leadership, Resilience and Legacy (Benchmark Press, 2025) and the co‑author of March Forth (Benchmark Press, 2026).

David Rabuka (BSc’97)

David Rabuka (BSc’97) is an innovative leader and entrepreneur in chemical biology, biopharmaceuticals, and biotechnology industries.

Rabuka is currently the co-founder, CEO and president of Acrigen Biosciences Inc., a cutting-edge biotech company focused on developing safe, efficient and novel precision gene-editing technologies.

His areas of scientific expertise include chemical synthesis, drug delivery, translational research, chemistry manufacturing and control, protein chemistry, and bioconjugation.

Rabuka was raised in Prince Albert, Sask., where he lived with his parents and two sisters. At USask, Rabuka earned his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in chemistry in 1997, receiving the Dean’s Science Award and the Society of Chemical Industry Merit Award. He earned his Master of Science in chemistry at the University of Alberta in 1999. In 2008, he completed his PhD in chemistry/chemical biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

That year, David founded Redwood Bioscience Inc., where he also acted as president and chief scientific officer. The company was acquired by Catalent Biologics in 2014.

Rabuka became the global head of research and development, chemical biology at Catalent Biologics, where he oversaw the continued research and development of biotherapeutics. He also oversaw strategy, resource allocation, and preclinical and clinical studies. He is also the founder and director of the companies Carbaform and Afternoon Cup.

He is recognized in the business community as a consultant or on the board of directors of multiple companies and organizations, including LDV Capital, Biosciences, Glyconet, Berkeley Catalyst Fund Management LLC and the ABS Institute.

Rabuka is an author of more than 65 peer-reviewed publications, including book chapters, and owns more than 90 patents.

Vukie Mpofu (BA’18)

A former Western Hockey League (WHL) athlete, Vukie Mpofu (BA’18) is now using his expertise in political studies and law to oversee National Hockey League (NHL) team operations.

Mpofu is currently the director of hockey operations and legal affairs with the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team.

Mpofu’s responsibilities include advising and assisting the Pittsburgh hockey operations department with contract negotiations, complying with the collective bargaining agreement and salary cap. He also has an active role in leading the Penguins hockey research and development department.

Born in the United Arab Emirates and raised in Saskatoon, Mpofu attended the University of Saskatchewan where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political studies in 2018. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor at the UCLA School of Law, with a specialization in media, entertainment, technology and sports law. He served as president of the UCLA’s Sports Law Federation from 2020-21.

While in Saskatchewan, Mpofu played with the Saskatoon Contacts and went on to play parts of two seasons with the Red Deer Rebels in the WHL from 2012-14. He accumulated 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 69 regular-season games.

He spent two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings from 2021-23, where he was the manager of hockey operations and legal affairs. He also assisted with player contract negotiations, managed salary cap and collective bargaining issues. Mpofu managed the Kings’ analytics staff and assisted with employment contracts for the Kings, and Ontario Reign, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.

Past Winners

  • Kenneth Calder (BA’66, MA’67)
  • Richard Ehman (BSc’74, MD’79)
  • Willard Estey (BA’40, LLB’42) (d.2002)
  • Larry Fowke (BA’63, DSC’06)
  • S. June Menzies (BA’49, MA’51)
  • Ernest Olfert (BA’65, DVM’69, MSc’76)
  • Louise Simard (BA’69, LLB’70)
  • Michelle Swenarchuk (BA’69) (d.2008)
  • Dorothy Walton (BA’29, MA’31) (d. 1981)
  • David Zakus (BSc’75)
  • Mark Abley, BA'75
  • Nancy Foster Adams, BA'31 (d. 1998)
  • Frank W. Anderson, BA'55 (d. 2008)
  • Anita Raynell Andreychuk, BA'66, LLB'67
  • Robert M. Arn, BA'63
  • Clare B. Baker, BA'44, Cert/Med
  • Edward J. Baldes, BA'18 (d. 1975)
  • Edward Bayda, BA'51, LLB'53
  • George Edwin Britnell, BA'29 (d. 1961)
  • Weldon Grant Brown, BSc'27, MSc'28 (d. 1989)
  • Sharon Butala, BEd'62, BA'63, PGD'73
  • Robert Calder, BA'63, MA'65
  • Jessie Rowles Caldwell, BSc'24 (d. 1990)
  • Alastair Graham W. Cameron, PhD'52 (d. 2005)
  • Roger C. Carter, BA'45, LLB'47 (d. 2009)
  • Samuel Delbert Clark, BA'30, MA'31 (d. 2003)
  • Kim Coates, BA '81
  • Thomas Courchene, BA'62
  • Lorna Crozier, BA'69
  • Edward M. Culliton, BA'26, LLB'28 (d. 1991)
  • Balfour Currie, BSc'25, MSc'27 (d. 1981)
  • MJ DeCoteau, BA'91, MA'97
  • William Deverell, LLB'63, BA'64
  • John George Diefenbaker, BA'15, MA'16, LLB'19 (d. 1979)
  • James Dosman, BA'59, MD'63, MA'69
  • Lillian Eva Dyck, BA'66, MA'70, PhD'81
  • Sylvia Fedoruk, BA'49, MA'51
  • Edith Fowke, BA'33, MA'37 (d. 1996)
  • Gerald Friesen, BA'65
  • Dorothee Gizenga, BSc'85
  • Lydia Gruchy, BA'20 (d. 1992)
  • Raymond Heimbecker, BA'44, Cert/Med'45
  • Robert Hinitt, BA'47, MA'49, BEd'52
  • Orville Hjertaas, BA'39, Cert/Med'39 (d. 1998)
  • Ramon Hnatyshyn, BA'54, LLB'56 (d. 2002)
  • Lisa Hornung, BMus'91
  • Ted Hughes, BA'48, LLB'50
  • Frances Hyland, BA'47, (d. 2004)
  • Gary Hyland, BA'62, BEd'64
  • Wilbur Roy Jackett, BA'31, LLB'33 (d. 2005)
  • Albert Johnson, BA'42
  • Norman Bell Keevil, BSc'30, MSc'32 (d. 1989)
  • Gordon Keller, BSc'74
  • Donald Kent, BE'57, MSc'59
  • Carlyle King, BA'26 (d. 1988)
  • Lawrence Kirk, BA'16, BSA'17, MSc'22, (d. 1969)
  • Dorothy Elsie Knowles, BA'48
  • Lester Lafond, D/Agric'75, BA'82
  • Patricia Lawson, BA'50, BEd'53
  • Mary Jo Leddy, BA'68, BEd'70
  • Jim MacNeill, BA'49, BE'58
  • Russell Holmes Macdonald, BA'39 (d. 1997)
  • Peter Makaroff, BA'15, LLB'18 (d. 1971)
  • Eric Malling, BA'67 (d. 1998)
  • Vincent Matthews, BA'43, Cert/Med'43 (d. 1988)
  • Kenneth J. McCallum, BSc'36, MSc'39 (d. 1997)
  • James McConica, BA'50
  • Alistair McCrone, BA'53
  • Annie McKay, BA'15 (d. 1986)
  • Obang Metho, BA'00
  • William E. K. Middleton, BSc'27, MSc'29 (d. 1998)
  • Courtney Milne, BA'64
  • William Thomas Molloy, BA'64, LLB'64
  • Jefferson Mooney, BA'66
  • Helen Frances Morrison, BHSc'39
  • Hilda Neatby, BA'24, MA'28 (d. 1975)
  • Darwyn Peachey, BSc'78, MSc'83
  • Bruce Peel, BA'44 (d. 1988)
  • Wilfred Perreault, BFA'70
  • Clayton Oscar Person, BA'49, MA'51 (d. 1990)
  • Vera Pezer, BA'62, MA'64, PhD'77
  • Herbert Pinder Sr., BA'42
  • Jacob Rempel, BA'31, MSc'33 (d. 1976)
  • Robert Gordon Robertson, BA'35
  • Roy Romanow, BA'60, LLB'64
  • Darcy Kim Rossmo, BA'78
  • John Francis Roy, BA'48, BEd'53, MA'68
  • Brian Henderson Russell, BSc'75
  • William George Schneider, BSc'37, MSc'39
  • Edith Child Rowles Simpson, BHSc'32 (d. 1997)
  • George Simpson, BA'19 (d. 1969)
  • Ahab Spence, BA'52 (d. 2001)
  • Savella Stechishin, BA'30 (d. 2002)
  • Barry Strayer, BA'53, LLB'55
  • Walter Surma Tarnopolsky, BA'52, LLB'57 (d. 1993)
  • Henry Taube, BSc'35, MSc'37
  • Gordon Thiessen, BA'59, MA'62
  • Henry G. Thode, BSc'30, MSc'32 (d. 1997)
  • Margaret Thompson, BA'43
  • Raymond Thorsteinsson, BA'44
  • James Till, BA'52, MA'54
  • Mabel Timlin, BA'29 (d. 1976)
  • Guy Vanderhaeghe, BA'71, MA'75
  • Ernest Walker, BEd'71, BA'72, MA'78
  • John Wedge, MD'69, BSc'73
  • Margaret Weiers, BA'49
  • Jennifer Welsh, BA'87
  • Barrie Wigmore, BEd'62, BA'63
  • Steven Woods, BSc'87
  • Percy Wright, BA'29, MA'31 (d. 1989)