Scott Harding, Ph.D.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor

Scott Harding is associate professor and associate dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. His research interest include war, militarism, and peace activism; forced migration and refugee resettlement; and community organization.

He has extensive advocacy and organizing experience on issues of homelessness, affordable housing, welfare, community development, and transnational labor solidarity.

Dr. Harding is co-author of Breaking the War Habit: The Debate over Militarism in American Education (University of Georgia, 2022), Counter-Recruitment and the Campaign to Demilitarize Public Schools (Palgrave McMillan, 2017), and Human-Rights Based Approaches to Community Practice in the United States (Springer, 2015).

Additionally, Dr. Harding is the co-author of more than 50 published journal articles and book chapters. His work appears in the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, Journal of Refugee Studies, Journal of Policy Practice and Research, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, and International Social Work.

At UConn, he has taught doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate courses on social welfare policy, qualitative research methods, macro foundation practice, human behavior in the social environment, poverty and inequality, theory and practice in community organization, social welfare, theory and practice of social movements, and more. 

Dr. Harding earned a Ph.D. at the University of Washington, an MSW from California State University—Sacramento, and a BA from California State University—Sacramento.

He previously served as a board member of Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS); as an executive director and policy coordinator for the California Homeless Housing Coalition; and editor of the Journal of Community Practice.

Recent Publications

• Harding, S. & Kershner, S. (2024). Preparing for war: Cultural and educational foundations of U.S. militarism.  Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 9(3), 397-409.

• Libal, K., Harding, S. & Champagne, L. (2022). Solidarity work as political action: Advocating for refugees and asylum seekers in the USA.  Journal of Refugee Studies, 35(4), 1550-1567.

• Kershner, S., Harding, S. & Howlett, C. (2022).  Breaking the war habit: The debate over militarism in American education.  University of Georgia Press.

• Libal, K., Harding, S. & Hall-Faul, M. (2022). Community and Private Sponsorship of Refugees in theUS A: Rebirth of a Model.  Journal of Policy Practice and Research, 3(3), 259-276.

• Harding, S. & Kershner, S. (2018).  “A borderline issue”: Are there child soldiers in the United States?  Journal of Human Rights, 17(3), 322-339.

• Harding, S. & Kershner, S. (2017).  Counter-Recruitment and the Campaign to Demilitarize Public Schools.  Palgrave Macmillan.

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