We are pleased to announce that Professor John Robinson from the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and School of the Environment will serve as interim director of the School of the Environment from September 1 – December 31, 2018. As U of T’s first-ever presidential adviser on the environment, climate change and sustainability, Professor Robinson heads a special committee to coordinate and advance sustainability issues related to research, innovation, education and operations. In his joint undergraduate-graduate course offered through the School of the Environment, Professor Robinson challenges students to use the U of T campuses as living labs for sustainability projects. He joined the School of the Environment as a Full Professor on January 1, 2016.
Professor Robinson received his PhD in Geography from the University of Toronto in 1981. He taught at the University of Waterloo, where he was awarded tenure in 1985 and promoted to Full Professor in 1991. He moved to UBC in 1992, before joining the University of Toronto in 2015. He is currently cross-appointed in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (51%) and the School of the Environment (49%).
Professor Robinson’s research interests include: the intersection of climate change mitigation, adaptation and sustainability; the use of visualization, modeling, and citizen engagement to explore sustainable futures; sustainable buildings and urban design; creating partnerships for sustainability with the private, public, non-governmental and research sectors; and, generally, the intersection of sustainability, social and technological change, behavior change, and community engagement processes.
Professor Robinson is an eminent scholar who during the period 1996-2018 has won more than $33 million in grants, published 74 refereed journal articles, written or edited 6 books, and written 48 book chapters. Among numerous awards and distinctions, he received a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for being a lead author on the Second, Third and Fourth Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Professor Robinson served for three years as Associate Provost –Sustainability at UBC, and for five years was the Executive Director of the UBC Sustainability Initiative. Please join us in welcoming Professor Robinson to his new position in the School of the Environment.