This page offers a short guide to working with me. It aims to cover the practical stuff that could be useful to know before a first meeting or email exchange, and a few things I think are worth being transparent about.
How I say my name.
Gavan is the Irish version of Gavin, and most people (outside Australia) haven’t seen it before. You can hear me pronounce it here, if you’re curious.
What the VP TL office does.
As the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning at Queen’s University since 2023, I report to the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). The VP TL portfolio includes the Centre for Teaching and Learning, academic program quality assurance, academic integrity, educational scholarship, and learning spaces. I chair several Senate committees and work across Faculties on teaching and learning priorities.
Most of my work happens through committees, consultation, and cross-unit coordination across Faculties. If you’re working on something that touches teaching and learning at an institutional level, I may be able to help, connect you to the right people, or tell you where the idea fits into the governance process.
A lot of what I do is making sure changes to academic programs, policies, and practices move through the right institutional processes. That takes longer than people expect (including myself, to be honest), but “good process” means bringing people along, not just getting there quickly.
If you’re not sure whether I’m the right person for something, feel free to email and ask. I’m happy to point you in the right direction.
How to reach me.
Email is the best way. For general email, I’m at gavan.watson [at] queensu.ca. For meeting requests, please send to vptl@queensu.ca, which is where my calendar is managed. Invites sent to my personal email will need to be resent.
If you receive an email from me outside your working hours, I don’t expect an immediate reply. I sometimes work at odd hours because it suits my schedule; but I also love a delayed send.
Response times.
I try to be responsive by email. You can help me by flagging a deadline if you need a decision or a reply by a specific date, and I’ll aim to prioritize accordingly.�If I need more time to give you a proper answer, I’ll tell you that rather than leave you waiting.
How meetings with me tend to work.
A short agenda helps me prepare, even if it’s just a few bullet points in the meeting invite. I like meeting people in their spaces, so I’m happy to come to you on campus.
What to expect from me at the end of a meeting depends on the nature of the conversation. If I’m sure of something, I’ll tell you. If I need time to think before making a significant decision, I’ll tell you that too, and I’ll be clear about when you’ll hear back.
When I’m chairing, I try to respect people’s time: starting and ending as scheduled, balancing the need to get through meeting business with genuine space for discussion. Sometimes that means letting a conversation run; sometimes it means holding firm to the timeline. I tend to invite comments rather than going around the table, and I’ll actively make room for voices that haven’t been heard. I often summarize what I’ve heard to make sure we’re building shared understanding before we move on.
One request: please don’t read your slides to me. If it’s on the screen, I can read it. Tell me what it means or what you need from me.
How I use AI.
I use large language models as working tools in my professional practice. I take full responsibility for everything I send or publish.
I’m transparent about this for a few reasons. My portfolio includes helping Queen’s navigate the institutional implications of AI in teaching and learning, and I think it would be odd to do that work while pretending I don’t use the tools myself. I also think that honest disclosure is more productive than silence.
If you’d like to talk about how Queen’s is approaching AI in the academic context, I’m always happy to have that conversation.
How I give written feedback.
My default is to mark up documents directly using track changes, including line-level edits. This comes from my training as an academic and it’s a hard habit to break, although I recognize it can be seen as critique. If you receive a document back from me covered in revisions, that’s not a signal of disapproval! It means I’m engaged and trying to get to the best version together.
I’m equally comfortable giving high-level feedback, so the best thing you can do is tell me what kind of input you’re looking for. I’ll adjust accordingly. If you want a strategic read, say so, and I’ll stay out of your sentences.
Publications and writing.
Here’s a link to my academic publications, but lately most of my writing is heavily skewed towards the “academic policy” genre.
I research and write, broadly speaking, on the scholarship of teaching and learning, educational ethics, and higher education. My academic background is an interdisciplinary one, with a focus in outdoor education, environmental education, and animal studies.
A land acknowledgement.
Queen’s University is situated on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek. Indigenous peoples view the land as sacred, with learning that comes from a direct relationship with it. I also live on these traditional territories.
I include this not as a formality but as a reminder to myself. As an uninvited guest on this land, and I try to work in ways that take that seriously. I may not always get it right, but the intention is sustained and the commitment is real.