Bill joined the Department of History at the University of Saskatchewan in 1984 and served as department head from 1995-1998. He was Yukon Historian for the Canadian Parks Service prior to his university appointment. Bill retired in 2014 from the University.
He was named the university"s Distinguished Researcher at the spring 2004 convocation and received the College of Arts and Science Teaching Excellence Award in 2003. He was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province"s highest honour, in 2006, and elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada the following year.
