Elections 2026: Candidate vision Barbara Shank

Barbara Shank

I am honored to accept the nomination for the position of Treasurer for IASSW. I value the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from every region of the globe to further our mission and goals. 

The mission of IASSW speaks to what keeps me engaged and passionate about our profession. I believe all social work educators must develop and promote excellence in social work education, research and scholarship globally in order to enhance human well-being. We must collaborate and partner with our social work practice and social development colleagues if our profession and our professional organizations are to remain strong and vibrant. We cannot fulfill our mission or meet our goals acting alone. As social workers, we are facing challenges from many directions and we need to practice inclusiveness, affirm our diversity, respectfully challenge our detractors, and work for the common good. It is our responsibility as social work educators to develop and sustain standards both in the classroom and field that will enhance social work education and professional social work practice worldwide. We must serve our profession through excellence in teaching, research, scholarship and service. 

I believe it’s IASSW’s role to promote the development of social work education throughout the world, to encourage international partnerships, collaborations and exchanges of expertise and information, to provide support and a forum for sharing research and scholarship. I am in a position to work toward greater collaboration between IASSW and its sister organizations worldwide. 

In the past few years, IASSW has met some significant challenges and is making critical changes. We have determined our strategic priorities. We must sustain and increase membership, maintain our website, develop marketing, communication and fund development strategies, reduce our operational expenses and strengthen our partnerships.

I bring to this position of Treasurer a thorough understanding of the responsibilities of Treasurer and operations of the organization.  I also bring an attention to detail; willingness to listen; passion for social work education, excellence and global issues; respect for diversity and affirmation of difference; ability to find opportunities in problems, manage conflict and empower colleagues; and commitment to collaboration, partnership and social justice.