Wsevolod W. Isajiw, Ph.D. (6 November 1933 – 28 February 2023) was a Canadian sociologist and scholar specialising in social thought, sociological theory, ethnicity, immigration, and pluralism studies.
He was the first appointee to the position of Chair of the Robert F. Harney Professorship and Program in Ethnic, Immigration, and Pluralism Studies (now part of the Munk School) at that time in the Department of Sociology, University of Toronto (1990–9) where he established the first interdisciplinary collaborative graduate program in ethnic studies in Canada,[1] funded by the Secretary of State, and ran a series of highly successful annual conferences that were popular with students.
As per T. Lane's Victims of Stalin and Hitler: The exodus of Poles and Balts to Britain: “Isajiw proposed a series of indicators of ethnic identity which he divided into external (observable behaviour patterns) and internal (attitudes and feelings interpreted indirectly).
Ukrainians in Ukraine will find this book useful in helping to understand a part of their history to which they had no access until recently.”[15]Isajiw's book, Understanding Diversity: Ethnicity and Race in the Canadian Context [16](1999), is known for providing “a clear introduction to the study of ethnicity in Canada by an author who possesses an admirable knowledge of the field”[17] and was a highly used text for higher education multicultural studies.
On June 20, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Wsevolod W. Isajiw with a bestowal of papal honors at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael in Toronto, naming him a Knight in the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, for his “significant contribution to Catholic education, especially in connection with proposed changes to ‘The Education Act,’ which would have prevented Catholic School Boards from considering an individual's faith when making employment decisions.”