Doctor of Education
(honoris causa) DEd
Robert Shaw was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario. He attended Chippewa High school, graduated from the BPHE program at Nipissing University in 2013, and completed his PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies at The University of British Columbia in 2021. Having incurred a traumatic cervical spinal cord injury in 2011, he is greatly aware of, and knowledgeable about, the many barriers restricting participation and access for people living with disabilities. This knowledge and experience helped form the foundation for his PhD research that investigated the impact that peer support can have on people with spinal cord injuries. His research is being used to advance how disability organizations measure and evaluate outcomes related to peer support, select and train peer mentors, and deliver peer support services.
He was awarded over 350k in scholarships during his PhD and Postdoctoral fellowship, and has published 18 refereed articles, 2 book chapters, 12 abstracts, and delivered 21 conference presentations. The knowledge products created from his research findings have been disseminated and used in Canada and abroad which has led to him being sought out and engaged as a consultant for national and international organizations (e.g., Lululemon Athletica, Rick Hansen Foundation, Government of Canada, BNP Paribas International Banking Group, the United Nations) to improve products, policies, and services for people with disabilities in Canada and around the world.
Outside of academia he volunteers as a spinal cord injury peer mentor and has acted as a disability advisor for academic institutions regarding classroom, campus, and curriculum accessibility. Dr. Shaw is also a major advocate of sports for people with disabilities. He volunteers as a coach at introductory community tennis events and has been competing internationally in wheelchair tennis as a member of Team Canada for eight years.
His professional tennis career has seen him win 6 Canadian National Singles and Doubles titles to go along with 47 ITF Tour Titles. He secured gold at the 2019 Parapan-Am Games, silver at the 2023 Parapan-Am Games, achieved a career-high ranking of #6 in the world, represented Canada at the Tokyo Paralympics and is a 3x Grand Slam Doubles Finalist. In addition to being a professional player, Dr. Shaw sits on the ITF Classification Science Advisory Group, is vice-chair of the ITF Player Council, is a member of Tennis Canada’s Mental Health Strategy Task Force and was appointed the position of Athlete Representative for Wheelchair Tennis Canada where he provides recommendations to ensure the sport of wheelchair tennis evolves fairly and equitably for all participating athletes.