Professor Rod Simpson was appointed to the University of the Sunshine Coast as Dean of the then – Faculty of Science in 2001. Rod led the growth and expansion of the Faculty which included the addition of Health Sciences and Education, leading to the renaming of the Faculty in 2005 to the Faculty of Science, Health and Education. Under Rod’s leadership, the Faculty attracted large growth in student numbers and research outputs for the University. Rod has participated as a member of many University committees, including the University Council and Academic Board. Rod has been a member of a number of professional bodies, including the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology, the Public Health Association of Australia, and the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand. He has published widely in the areas of air pollution and public health and sustainable environmental management, and has been a consultant in Australia for local, state and commonwealth government agencies, as well as with international agencies such as the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Development Program, AusAID, and IDP Australia. Rod has played a key role in introducing new teaching programs in a number of professional areas including nursing, education, nutrition and dietetics, occupational therapy, paramedic sciences, exercise physiology and engineering. He has been instrumental in setting up strong Faculty research programs in forestry, aquaculture, and regional sustainability in collaboration with organisations including CSIRO and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. The Aquaculture and Biotechnology Group was awarded the ‘Excellence in Innovation’ prize at the Cooperative Research Centre Association Conference in 2010. The group’s research on tank bred tuna was recognised with second place in Time Magazine’s ‘Fifty best inventions of the year’ in 2009. He also played a key role in setting up the Regional Sustainability Research Group which was subsequently established by the University as the Sustainability Research Centre in 2009.