Farewell to Shahana Arain

I am writing to share, with regret, that Shahana Arain has decided to leave her role as Director of Equity, Diversity, Indigeneity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIIA) at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work as of December 31, 2025. She will be greatly missed.  

While sad about this news, I also want to express appreciation for the time that we have had with her as a member of our community. 

Shahana joined FIFSW in October 2023, at a time of extreme turbulence both within the Faculty and in the wider world. From her first days with us, she stepped into that complexity with steadiness, kindness, and courage. She listened carefully to staff, students and faculty/instructors who were affected by global events and local tensions, and she worked collaboratively to respond to the needs of our community. As EDIIA Director, she has been a clear and trusted point of contact for those seeking support, guidance, or accountability. 

During her time as Director, Shahana has made multiple contributions that have significantly reshaped how we do this work together. She led the transformation of our EDI Committee into the Equity, Diversity, Indigeneity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIIA) Committee, explicitly centring Indigeneity and accessibility alongside equity, diversity and inclusion. Working with co‑Chair Professor Tanya Sharpe, she strengthened the EDIIA Committee as a formal, multi‑stakeholder body that includes students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members, and launched three focused working groups — Accessibility, Professional Development, and Learning in the Classroom and in the Field — to translate commitment into concrete change. She also designed and communicated a clear pathway for reporting EDIIA‑related concerns at FIFSW, grounded in trauma‑informed, culturally responsive, and restorative approaches, and aligned with University of Toronto policy and the Ontario Human Rights Code. She highlighted accessibility as a Faculty‑wide priority, coordinating in‑house AODA professional development and consistently calling attention to trainings on digital and web accessibility, accessible events, universal design, accessible social media, and language, ableism and inclusion.  

At the same time, she helped to embed Truth and Reconciliation as an ongoing part of our Faculty life. She has supported the policies and practices that welcome smudging and Indigenous ceremonial practices at FIFSW. Through EDIIA communications, she regularly foregrounded the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and Canadian Association of Social Workers reconciliation resources, inviting us to consider their implications for teaching, field education and administration. Her leadership has been central to how FIFSW now participates in the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, collaborating with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives and First Nations House to ensure FIFSW social workers are present at Hart House to offer care, deep listening and decompression spaces in ways that acknowledge our profession’s history and responsibilities. Shahana worked with colleagues to renew our EDIIA and Truth and Reconciliation web presence and to establish a regular EDIIA newsletter and staff updates. These have become important vehicles for connecting local initiatives to university‑wide training, community resources and profession‑level commitments, and for helping many of us identify concrete next steps in our own roles.  

Another important area of Shahana’s leadership has been in supporting student groups formed around various affinities and identities, and strengthening our connections to university supports and networks for students. Through EDIIA newsletters and updates, she has repeatedly drawn attention to emergency funding and food security resources, the Graduate Students’ Union and Students’ Union supports, the Centre for International Experience, and a wide range of inclusive student events. She has also treated professional development and staff wellbeing as core EDIIA work. Shahana was part of the team that designed our inaugural staff retreat and subsequent retreats, and she consistently promoted staff and faculty participation in anti‑racism, gender‑inclusion and Indigenous‑focused trainings, linking this learning back to our daily responsibilities as members of the faculty. Her work often involved collaboration and partnerships with divisions across U of T as well as with community partners and agencies. 

Across all of these areas, what has stood out most is not only the breadth of Shahana’s portfolio, but the way she has carried the work: as a collaborator and partner to staff, students, faculty, alumni and community partners. She has been a steady presence in times of crisis and transition, a careful listener when people have been worried, frustrated, or concerned, and a thoughtful colleague in planning forward‑looking initiatives. 

On behalf of the Faculty, I want to express our deep appreciation for all that Shahana has contributed during her time as our inaugural EDIIA Director, and for the generous, principled collaboration she has offered in meeting the needs of our staff, students, and partners. Her work has left us with structures, relationships and processes that will continue to shape FIFSW well beyond her tenure in this role. 

We will share details about next steps for the Director role, as well as opportunities to thank Shahana together. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in expressing appreciation for the care, skill, and integrity she has brought to this position. 

Charmaine C. Williams, PhD 
Dean & Professor
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work