Vale David Adams

David Adams was a much-respected colleague who was twice Head of the Department of Political Science. He made a major contribution to ANU life between 1973 and 2011. David passed away on 9 April 2020.

Known for his attentiveness and generosity, David always inquired about you, and rarely spoke about himself. He went to the library to research honours theses before marking them in order to do justice to students. And at the end of the semester, he took his tutors to lunch.  

Thousands of students have benefited from David’s inspired teaching. He ran courses in Australian Politics, Bureaucracy and Public Policy, Executive Government and was a leading thinker in Political Psychology. David was a valued mentor and friend to junior scholars, many of whom now occupy prestigious positions in universities, governments and businesses all over the world.

After he retired, a first-year politics prize was established in his name. Convening Introduction to Politics was an honour for David, who referred to the task of “rising up to the lectern”. He was a passionate and meticulously prepared teacher who drew upon literature, art, film and pop culture to enliven his lectures, and his students.

Kim Huynh, School of Politics and International Relations, April 2020