60 Faces of Social Work: How Dr. Jacqueline Ismael helped shape international social work

June 8, 2026

60 Faces of Social Work: How Dr. Jacqueline Ismael helped shape international social work

Celebrating legacy of scholar who equipped generations of social justice leaders with the ideas, tools and courage to spur change

Jacqueline Ismael Don McSwiney

Dr. Jacqueline Sedonia Ismael’s intellect, determination and vision made her a towering figure in her field. Through a distinguished career of scholarship, leadership and service, she left an enduring legacy that continues to shape the lives of countless students, colleagues and communities. 

“She was a giant in Canadian social work,” reflects former colleague Dr. John Graham, PhD, who would later become director of the School of Social Work at UBC Okanagan. “The vacuum that her absence creates will not easily be filled.”

From 1980 until her retirement in 2019, Ismael built a remarkable career grounded in social justice, critical social policy and international development. 

As a thought leader in Canadian public policy, two-time ��֦��Ƶ alum Ismael, BA’75, MA’76 (she got her PhD at University of Alberta), wrote a foundational text, Canadian Social Welfare Policy: Federal and Provincial Dimensions, and established an important national conference focused on Canadian social welfare policy to foster cross-disciplinary research and comparative provincial studies.

As a globally respected expert on the Middle East, she authored 16 books and more than 120 academic papers examining social sectarianism, post-conflict reconstruction, and the consequences of war and occupation, particularly for women and children. Her scholarship connected international events to everyday human experiences. Rather than viewing conflict solely through the lens of geopolitics, Ismael focused on how political decisions affected ordinary people and communities.

As an international thought leader, her influence extended far beyond the classroom. She served for more than 20 years on the board of the International Association of Middle Eastern Studies (IAMES), including a term as president, and was founding editor of the Journal of Contemporary Iraq and the Arab World, a publication she considered one of her most important professional legacies. Together with her husband, collaborator and longtime U��֦��Ƶ political science professor Dr. Tareq Ismael, PhD (who passed away in 2024), she became one of North America’s most respected voices on Middle Eastern politics and society.

The upcoming IAMES conference in Madrid June 10-12 will honour Jacqueline and co-founder Tareq Ismael and their intellectual legacy. Yet, Jacqueline Ismael’s greatest contribution may have been helping broaden how U��֦��Ƶ's and the profession itself understands its role in the world.

Building a global perspective

Long before globalization became a common topic in universities, Ismael argued that social workers needed to understand how colonialism, migration, conflict and economic systems shaped local realities.

She played a pivotal role in the establishment of the international social work concentration within the Faculty of Social Work curriculum, serving as its founding director. In addition, she chaired a committee that spearheaded the creation of the first-ever International Social Welfare/Social Work concentration in North America. 

Former colleague Richard Ramsay recalls that Ismael worked alongside faculty members including Gayle Gilchrist-James; Dr. John Graham; and Dr. Maureen Wilson, MA’70, PhD, to create a model that challenged traditional assumptions about international social work.

“We were trying to make sure that the international concentration was going to be more than just a student exchange and more than a North American kind of imperialism,” Ramsay recalls.

Instead, the program was grounded in social justice, critical social policy, community development, and respect for Indigenous and global perspectives. One early example of that philosophy was the decision to recognize First Nations field-education placements as international placements, reflecting a broader understanding of sovereignty, culture and colonialism decades before such discussions became common in higher education.

The impact of that work continues today through the faculty’s International and Community Development specialization and its longstanding commitment to global engagement.

“A surfeit of waves”

If Ismael helped transform the faculty’s international outlook, her greatest achievement may have been the huge impact she had on generations of changemakers — the many former students who went on to become influential professors, community leaders, researchers, advocates, policymakers and elected officials.

Her classes challenged students to move beyond simple explanations and ask harder questions about power, inequality and justice. Colleagues recall a fiery professor who became fully animated when discussing social issues, leaning forward, pounding the desk for emphasis and refusing to accept easy answers to complex problems.

“She was brilliant, passionate and did not suffer fools lightly,” recalls Lana Wells, BSW’96, MSW’97, Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence in the Faculty of Social Work. “She pushed her students to be better — to see more clearly, think more deeply, study more rigorously, and speak out against hypocrisy and injustice.”

Wells says she can always tell when someone was taught by Ismael. Her former students proudly refer to themselves as “Ismaelites” — graduates who carry forward her unwavering commitment to social justice, intellectual rigour and critical thinking.

“Jackie changed the trajectory of my life,” adds Wells, who also leads at U��֦��Ƶ. “She gave us the words, frameworks, and tools to understand the more clearly and the courage to work toward making it better.”

Dr. Ellen Perrault, current dean of U��֦��Ƶ Social Work, credits Ismael with helping shape her understanding of social work as a force for systemic change.

“She really set me on a course to critically thinking about how we can do social work to transform society,” says Perrault, BSW’93, MSW’95, PhD’09.

Former Alberta cabinet minister and current MLA Lori Sigurdson, BSW’93, MSW’96, RSW, similarly credits Ismael’s social policy course with shaping the way she approached legislation and public policy throughout her career. “She was always on my shoulder, reminding me about the importance of looking beyond the smoke and mirrors,” Sigurdson recalls.

Former student and colleague, Dr. Betty Bastien, BSW’80, MSW’86, PhD, a groundbreaker in bringing Indigenous ways of knowing into the Academy and the author of Blackfoot Ways of Knowing: The Worldview of the Siksikaitsitapi, who died in 2023, also spoke about how Ismael’s social policy course “really gave me a sense of where I needed to go in my life — in my practice — and gave depth to what I can do.”

Ismael passed away in 2023. At an event celebrating her life, Dr. Andrew Johnson, PhD, former dean and emeritus professor at Bishop’s University, provided a powerful metaphor for Ismael’s legacy.  

“Once a pebble is tossed in a pond, the pond is never the same,” he said. “Jacquie tossed handfuls of pebbles, and the ripple effects continue … her legacy is a surfeit of waves.”