2020-2021 Year in Review
A message from Dean Voisin
The 2020-2021 academic year, with the COVID-19 pandemic, racial reckoning and economic instability, has been like no other. Through these challenges, we have learned and been reminded of our collective resilience and that much can be achieved, even in the presence of difficulties.
Our annual Year In Review provides an overview of some of FIFSW’s many accomplishments. These include the development of an online simulation model, electronic checklists for front-line child welfare workers supporting youth and their families, multimedia opportunities for LGBTQ+ youth, and the Youth Wellness Lab, which is addressing challenges related to the overlapping pandemics of COVID-19 and racism.
Our new, free Talk it Out online counseling clinic, created to addresses the mental health needs of vulnerable individuals and communities, is among the first of its kind for any Faculty of Social Work in North America. Through strategic planning we have also increased the diversity of our faculty and senior staff and have significantly increased our international students and advancement totals.
COVID-19 has brought into sharp focus the preciousness of life and importance of family. On December 31, I will step down as dean and return to the United States to be closer to my own family. I am incredibly proud of the many things we have collectively accomplished during my time at FIFSW and the clear blueprint we have established for the Faculty’s continued upward trajectory. There is much more for us to complete in the coming months.
I would like to thank Professor Charmaine Williams, for accepting the role of Interim Dean effective January 1, 2022. A faculty member at FIFSW since 2002, Professor Williams has served U of T in multiple administrative and academic positions, including, most recently, Vice-Dean, Students at the School of Graduate Studies. As an academic community we have grown from strength to strength and Charmaine will provide stellar leadership.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Faculty’s success over this past year. I invite you to read our 2020-2021 Year-in-Review (see the main sections, to the left) and learn more about our impact and this “great, good place.”
Sincerely,
Dexter
Dexter R. Voisin
Dean and Professor
Sandra Rotman Chair in Social Work