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Eliza Ritchie was a professor, activist and community leader. Born in Halifax in 1856, she graduated from Dalhousie in 1887 with a Bachelor of Letters, and in 1889 was one of the first Canadian women to earn a PhD, from Cornell University, New York. After further studies in Leipzig and Oxford, she taught school in New England from 1890-1900. Ritchie returned to Dalhousie in 1901 to teach philosophy and in 1919 became the first woman to sit on the Board of Governors. She was a founding member of The Dalhousie Review and an occasional contributor. President of the Dalhousie Alumnae Association since 1911, and always an advocate for female students, she was a driving force behind the building of Sherriff Hall in 1922. In 1986 a women's residence was named in her honour. Eliza Ritchie died in Halifax in 1933.

In 2018 Eliza Ritchie was named one of 52 Dalhousie Originals, a list of individuals identified as having made a significant impact on the university and the broader community since Dalhousie's inception in 1818. https://www.dal.ca/about-dal/dalhousie-originals/eliza-ritchie.html

Lothar Richter founded the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) at Dalhousie University in 1936. Born in 1894 in Silesia, Germany, Richter studied classics, philosophy and Lutheran ideology and earned doctoral degrees in both political science and law. In 1920 he became a civil servant in the Reich Department of Labour in Berlin, helping to draft the new Poor Law and other legislation around workers' compensation, health and employment. In 1933 he moved to England with his wife and young son, having obtained a temporary position at Leeds University through the help of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In 1934 Carleton Stanley hired Richter as a professor of German, with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation funding his salary. After founding the IPA, which was supported by the Rockefeller Foundation in recognition of the need for greater regional economic and social development, Richter handed over his German courses to his wife, Johanna. The work of the institute contributed to the local community through the development of the Nova Scotia Bureau, Maritime Bureau of Industrial Relations, and the Maritime Labour Institute. Richter also established Public Affairs, Dalhousie’s second quarterly publication. He died in 1948 after a traffic accident.

A veteran of two wars, Colonel John William George Rhoades was born on 15 September 1874 in Nottingham, England. He came to Canada in 1893 and homesteaded near Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, before beginning a long and distinguished career with the Canadian military. On 24 August 1894 he enlisted with “B” Squadron of The Royal Canadian Dragoons in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he earned the nickname “Dickie” for whistling. From 1898 to 1899 he served with the Yukon Field Force (YFF), a special force of two hundred men sent to the Yukon to assist the Northwest Mounted Police during the gold rush. The YFF battled the muskeg and bugs of the Teslin Trail to reach Teslin Lake and then continued to Fort Selkirk by water. Although the YFF was based at the Fort, Rhoades was part of a detachment sent to help the Mounted Police manage Dawson City. In 1899 the force was recalled and Rhoades left the Yukon.

From the Yukon, Rhoades went to Toronto where he was posted with “A” Squadron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons at Stanley Barracks. In 1900 he was sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War until its end in 1901. Rhoades then returned to Toronto where he remained until he was sent to the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1910. In 1912 he was appointed the Riding Master at the College with the honorary rank of Lieutenant.

At the outbreak of World War I Rhoades decided to go into action once again and was posted to the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR) as Adjutant with the rank of Captain. He was promoted to Major in 1916 and Lieutenant Colonel in 1918 when he was appointed to command the 5th CMR. Rhoades remained with the unit from 1914 to 1919 and saw action at the Somme, Vimy, Ypres, and Passchendale. He received a number of decorations and medals for his service, including the bar for the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross.

In 1919 Rhoades returned to Canada where he became acting Adjutant and Quarter Master General of the Toronto Military District. Upon retirement in 1929 he was granted the rank of Colonel and worked with the Soldiers’ Aid Commission in Toronto and the Corps of Commissionaires. Rhoades passed away on 2 September 1955 in Toronto leaving behind wife Ethel Alice (Winter), and daughters Tannis, Frances, and Peggy.

Writer, director, actor, and producer David Renton was born in Geelong, Australia in 1934. His career began in 1951 as an actor with St. Martins Theatre in Melbourne. He immigrated to Canada in 1954, eventually becoming a Canadian citizen in 1966. In Canada, Renton continued to work in the performing arts industry. In the 1950s, he worked for the CBC doing special effects lighting and lighting design for television shows such as Howdy Doody and Front Page Challenge. He also appeared on radio and television, began acting in stage productions across Canada in 1958, and joined John Hirsch’s acting company at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1960. Three years later, Renton moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to become a member of the first company of Neptune Theatre, where he would perform in more than one hundred plays. Over the next four decades, he made a name for himself in Canada in both the performing arts and amateur athletics communities.

From 1965 to 1966, Renton traveled around the world to study theatre. He visited fifteen countries, thirty companies, and saw more than sixty productions. Renton’s career further diversified during the 1970s and 1980s. He directed a youth theatre group called "Project 30" in Halifax in 1973, served as the acting artistic director of Neptune from 1977 to 1978, was the drama advisor for the Nova Scotia Department of Education, founded Portus Theatre Productions where he served as artistic director from 1976 to 1983, served as Artistic Director of the Stephenville Festival in Newfoundland in 1981, coordinated the Provincial High School Drama Festival in Halifax in 1986, and acted at the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario in 1980 and the Stratford Festival from 1984-1986. In the early 1990s, Renton was involved with Upstart Theatre serving as director, sitting on the board, and acting in productions.

Renton also performed in film and television, appearing in The Neptune Factor (1973), Bluenose Ghosts (1974), Emily of New Moon (1999), and Russian Roulette (2001). In addition, he served as the stand-in for Gordon Pinsent in The Shipping News (2001). As a resource person, Renton worked extensively within the Canadian theatre community and in schools on many facets of theatrical production. He was an active member of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and the Canadian Actors' Equity Association (CAEA).

David Renton also received acknowledgement for his work within the performing arts community. In 1955, he received an award for bravery in filming Hurricane Hazel in 1954. In 2003, he was awarded the Robert Merritt Achievement Award for his contributions to theatre in Nova Scotia. More recently, in 2004, the Maritime Chapter of ACTRA presented him with the ACTRA Award of Excellence, which was then renamed the David Renton Award of Excellence, in recognition of his contributions to the organization.

Renton also made valuable contributions to Canadian amateur athletics. He was the chairman of the Team Liaison for Skate Canada, which was held in Halifax in 1983, and later the production coordinator of the 1987 Canada Winter Games held in Sydney, Nova Scotia. In 1990, he was chairman of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Committee for the World Figure Skating Championships held in Halifax.

David Renton and wife Karine had two daughters, Rachel and Bea. He passed away on May 2, 2006.