2024-2025 Year in Review: Building inclusive excellence
Organizers and participants in the Asian Heritage Month Celebration held by FIFSW, KPE, and DLSPH. Left to right: Jacqueline Teh (Faculty of Music), Sultana Jahangir (FIFSW), Hui Xiao (Postdoctoral Fellow, KPE), Shahana Arain (Director, EDI, FIFSW), Associate Professor Izumi Sakamoto (FIFSW), Terry Gardiner (KPE), Assistant Professor Aya Mitanni (DLSPH), Shari Thompson-Ricci (Equity Advisor, DLSPH), Ryan Hinds (Director, EDI, DLSPH)
Creating an environment where everyone can thrive
FIFSW is committed to creating an environment where our community can thrive: where diversity is celebrated, support is accessible, and everyone feels a sense of belonging. Our ongoing efforts to foster equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility are collaborative and ever evolving. Staff and faculty across all offices work together and with students, partners, and alumni to advance FIFSW’s EDI goals.
Below is an overview of our efforts to advance inclusive excellence during the 2024-2025 academic year.
The 2024-2025 academic year marked the first full year that FIFSW’s Director of EDI, Shahana Arain, has been in our Faculty. Throughout the year, Shahana worked closely with our diverse community of faculty, staff and students to build belonging at FIFSW through strategic planning, events, resource development, and one-on-one support.
As part of this work, Shahana is a point of contact for those wanting to identify opportunities for growth and engagement, bring forward recommendations, or report EDI issues of concern. She also engages in proactive outreach, such as surveying field instructors to better understand professional development needs related to EDI, and meeting with Faculty to gather information on their current efforts and needs for support.
Together with Associate Professor Tanya Sharpe, Shahana also co-chaired FIFSW’s EDI Committee.
Committee members
2024-2025 Diversity & Equity Committee Chairs:
Shahana Arain, Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Tanya Sharpe, Professor; Factor-Inwentash Chair in Social Work in the Global CommunityAccessibility Lead: Harry Taylor, Assistant Professor
Professional Development Lead: Tin Vo, Assistant Professor
Learning in the Classroom and the Field Lead: Kyle Ganson, Assistant Professor
EDI Working Groups
Aligned with the University of Toronto’s Institutional Equity Priorities, FIFSW’s EDI Committee included three working groups: Access and Accessibility, Professional Development, and Learning in the Classroom and in the Field. Composed of students, faculty, alumni, staff and field instructors, the working groups provide recommendations for implementing EDI initiatives.
Access and Accessibility
The Access and Accessibility working group focuses on:
- Access, through the removal of systemic barriers that limit equitable participation in academic, professional and social life.
- Accessibility, by fostering a learning and working environment where individuals with disabilities can fully participate and thrive.
Professional Development
The Professional Development Working Group focuses on developing responsive, job-embedded learning experiences tailored to the evolving needs of the social work community to support meaningful and sustained professional growth among staff, faculty, field instructors and alumni.
Learning in the Classroom and In the Field
The Learning in the Classroom and In the Field Working Group aims to strengthen student skill sets both within and beyond the classroom. Its mission includes creating and supporting structures that advance EDI and Indigenous knowledge translation across the Faculty, while also promoting meaningful learning through co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities.
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In the 2024-2025 academic year, FIFSW’s three EDI Working Groups focused on mapping out the short-, mid-, and long-term priorities that will inform the Faculty’s EDIIA Strategic Plan to be launched in the Fall of 2025.
In the Fall, FIFSW launched a new section on its website devoted to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Indigeneity and Accessibility (EDIIA) initiatives, resources, and plans. The goal of the newsletter is to give our community better insight and access to information and resources relevant to these issues that are available at FIFSW and U of T. As with other sections of FIFSW’s website, updates to these pages will be ongoing as initiatives evolve — and feedback is always welcome.
FIFSW’s EDI office also communicates regularly with the FIFSW community through a monthly newsletter that shares events, reminders, resources, and dates of significance.
Past issues of the EDIIA newsletter are available on the EDIIA website.
Faculty training: Integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
The Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation facilitated Universal Design Learning (UDL) training for FIFSW faculty, sessional lecturers, and course instructors. Facilitated by Samantha Chang (Faculty Liaison Coordinator, Teaching, Learning & Technology) and Michal Kasprzak (Assistant Director) at U of T’s Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation (CTSI), this workshop offered a deep exploration of the UDL framework and its implementation in higher education. Organized by the Office of FIFSW’s Associate Dean, Academic, the session provided participants with practical strategies to create inclusive and accessible learning environments.
FIFSW AODA Series
The Government of Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) recognizes the need to eliminate barriers to allow for the full participation of individuals with disabilities. The University of Toronto’s AODA Office works to ensure that the University is meeting its goals, by delivering training and resources, among other services. This year FIFSW’s EDI office partnered with U of T’s AODA office staff to deliver a series of workshops to FIFSW faculty and staff on accessibility including:
- Language, Accessibility, and Ableism
- Web Accessibility
- Accessible Events
An Accessibility Orientation Session for new and returning students was also held in May 2024.
Practicum workshops
Building on needs related to equity and diversity identified by the practicum office and field instructors, FIFSW organized training to strengthen EDI awareness and skills within practicum courses. In September it held a workshop on Building Healthy Relationships in Practicum for both students and field instructors, as well as a workshop on microaggressions. Workshops for field instructors on creating accessible environments were also provided.
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Working in collaboration with the EDI office at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, FIFSW held workshops for faculty, staff, and field instructors in October and November entitled “Dialogue Strategies for Difficult Conversations – Managing the Emotional Impact of the Ongoing Conflict in Gaza on our Faculty, Staff, Students, and Ourselves.” The one-day, in-person professional development opportunity was designed to foster inclusive learning and workspaces where diverse perspectives can be honoured. The workshop focused on the use of conflict resolution and deep listening strategies and relied on Shahid’s 7 c’s of Conflict Resolution as a practical application for how to address difficult conversations, whether they be in the classroom environment, in an interaction with a colleague or student, or as part of a team dynamic.
In May, FIFSW —in partnership with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (DLSPH), and the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE) — hosted a celebration of Asian Heritage Month in FIFSW’s third floor student lounge. The event spotlighted the work and excellence of three esteemed leaders: Sultana Jahangir, who supports practicum opportunities at FIFSW, Aya Mitani from DLSPH, and Hui Xiao from KPE. Associate Professor Izumi Sakamoto introduced the featured speakers, who shared their impact and contributions to health and wellness during a panel discussion. Those in attendance were also treated to a captivating performance from Jacqueline Teh, a Juno Award-winning songwriter, composer, educator—and alumna of U of T’s Faculty of Music. The evening provided an opportunity for participants to build meaningful connections through advocacy across research and community-led platforms while celebrating Asian communities.
