Robert Case

Robert Case is an Associate Professor in Social Development Studies at Renison University College (affiliated with the University of Waterloo) and serves as Director of the Renison School of Social Science & Humanities (2025-2029). A Past President of the Renison Association of Academic Staff, his career bridges academic scholarship with grassroots environmental activism in Guelph, Ontario, focusing on community-driven solutions to social and ecological challenges.

Education

• Ph.D. in Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University
• M.S.W. in Social Work, University of British Columbia
• B.S.W. in Social Work, McGill University
• B.A. in Psychology, McGill University

Research Focus

Dr. Case investigates the nexus of social welfare policy, community resilience, and environmental justice through community-based activism. His work examines how local groups mobilize around water protection, child welfare, and income security, emphasizing participatory approaches that reduce reliance on formal systems. Key themes include social ecology’s role in social work practice, community-led environmental governance, and strategies for building protective factors around vulnerable populations through neighborhood networks.

Scholarly Impact

His publication trajectory (1999-2024) reveals an evolution from youth policy analysis to eco-social work frameworks, with recent scholarship addressing climate anxiety among youth, pandemic impacts on water advocacy, and institutionalizing community resilience. This body of work consistently centers community agency in confronting corporate extraction and environmental degradation, particularly through case studies of Ontario’s water activism movements.

Scientific Recognition

• 2019 Marie O. Weil Award for outstanding scholarship (Journal of Community Practice)

Research Leadership

Dr. Case secures major grants including SSHRC Insight Development funding for comparative water activism studies across North America, Environment and Climate Change Canada support for the Green Resilience Project (25+ communities), and Renison Research Grants for documenting the Water Watchers’ oral history. His projects prioritize community-university partnerships, translating scholarship into tangible policy impacts like Ontario’s groundwater regulation reforms.

Community Integration

Deeply embedded in Guelph’s activist landscape, he served on the Water Watchers board (2012-2021) and as chair (2020-2021), co-founding initiatives like the Village Finding child welfare pilot. This lived experience directly informs his teaching of courses including Community Organization (SOCWK 222R) and Social Development and the Environment (SDS 260R), creating reciprocal knowledge exchange between campus and community.