Remembering Professor Janet Fast
Colleagues across the Department of Sociological Studies, CIRCLE and the Centre for Care were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Professor Janet Fast in September 2024.
Janet's passing came shortly after her retirement from a distinguished career at the University of Alberta in Canada, where for decades she co-directed the influential RAPP (Research on Aging Policies and Practice) programme.
Janet was generous in sharing with us her extensive and ground-breaking research in Canada on carers and employment, and on care costs and contributions - particularly in CIRCLE's early days when work on these topics in the UK was in its infancy. She collaborated closely with Sue Yeandle for many years, and was a key part of the work done on combining caring with employment in CIRCLE's Sustainable Care programme from 2017 to 2021.
During her long career, Janet produced many seminal publications, and developed a wide range of impactful studies in collaboration with government agencies and organisations supporting carers in Canada. She had a deep understanding of the importance of caring in all areas of life. In the past decade she made a crucial contribution to Canada's AGE-WELL network on technology and ageing, where she led work on carers and technology.
Janet will be very sadly missed by her many friends and colleagues around the world, who connected with her in the shared pursuit of better understanding and impactful research for the benefit of carers.