Since the inception of the Sydney Environment Institute in 2012, David has worked to grow environmental multidisciplinary research at the University of Sydney. Alongside co-Director, Deputy Directors, SEI members and staff, he has stewarded the Sydney Environment Institute to become an organisation with international visibility and a leader in environmental, justice-centred research. On the ground, this has meant supporting SEI's members' research and fostering a genuine sense of community, with a focus on supporting Early-Career Researchers and mentoring students.  In the words of Professor Thom van Dooren, "under David's leadership, SEI has built and sustained a genuinely multidisciplinary space that places, at its core, questions of justice, democracy, and inclusion."

Throughout his career, David has shaped the fields of environmental politics, environmental justice, and climate adaptation. His landmark book Defining Environmental Justice (2007) helped transform the way scholars and practitioners think about justice, bringing the natural world into focus and expanding the conversation to include ideas of ecological justice, recognition, and participation.

In more recent years, his work has continued to push boundaries, particularly through his contributions to the growing field of multispecies justice. In collaboration with colleagues such as Professor Danielle Celermajer and Dr Christine Winter, to name a few, he has helped build a vibrant and influential body of research that is reshaping how we understand justice across human and more-than-human worlds. This research has been taken up by governments and intergovernmental bodies of all sizes, from city councils to bodies like the EU, the OECD, and the IPCC.

At the heart of David's work is a deep commitment to community and real-world impact. He has worked closely with governments and communities on climate adaptation and resilience, ensuring that research translates into meaningful change. In her reflections on David's impact, Beck Dawson specified that through his research and advocacy, he has influenced many public policies, including but not limited to: the New South Wales State Disaster Mitigation Plan; the Committee for Sydney's Programs on Critical Infrastructure and Nature's Resilience Dividend.

David's dedication to community impact is also reflected in the launch of FoodLab, a social enterprise recognised with the University of Sydney's 2022 Research Impact Award. Managing Director of FoodLab, Jamie Loveday described David's support, as he tenaciously sought funding for FoodLab and then later publish about the organisation, "translating what happened in our organisation, in a community kitchen into language that funders and policy makers and people with power had."

The SEI community gathered in late May to farewell David. The night was a celebration of his leadership, with speakers highlighting the academic impact of his work, which has shaped the fields of environmental politics and environmental justice, his deep commitment to communities, and the wide-ranging impact of his influence on local, regional, and global policymaking. 

While we celebrate David's academic legacy and impact, his warmth and deeply relational style of leadership are what his colleagues, staff and collaborators will remember him for. In the words of the Chair of the evening, Prof. Danielle Celermajer: "David has brought to the University, and to all of us, his world-changing thinking on environmental and multispecies justice; on theorising and building knowledge from and with communities; and on the critical role of networks of activism and care in just and transformative responses to environmental degradation and climate change… he has been dedicated to growing and nurturing a knowledge culture that respects those same principles -diversity, equality, respect, courage, and care."

Professor Schlosberg’s next chapter will start at the University of Helsinki on 1 September, in his new appointment as Professor of Environmental Politics. The appointment is part of a 15-million Euro grant from the Research Council of Finland in recruiting international researchers.

Header Image caption: SEI Deputy Director, Prof Danielle Celermajer (left), former SEI Co-Director, Prof Iain McCalman, and outgoing Director of SEI, Prof David Schlosberg. Image by Prof Chris Wright.