• Academic Homepage
    • Educational Development Portfolio
      • Statement of Educational Development Philosophy
      • Artifacts and Evidence
    • Teaching Dossier
      • Statement of Teaching Philosophy
    • Multiple Acts of Birding: PhD Research

Gavan P.L. Watson

A website proudly muddying the line between my private and public persona.

Academia

Gavan Watson, PhD

November 26, 2010 by Gavan 1 Comment

A Little Shorty
Creative Commons License photo credit: clydeorama

I achieved a personal milestone yesterday with the successful defense of my PhD dissertation (What is the link to picture above? I “scored” a personal “goal” yesterday). Even more exciting than the “Congratulations” from the chair as I re-entered the room was the word that my work required no revisions and it was being submitted for consideration of a thesis prize. Unexpected (the no revisions and thesis prize part, not the successful defense) and pretty freakin’ awesome.

I’m still processing the fact that I’ve reached the termination of a terminal degree and that, largely, I’m done. I think it will take a day or two for me to fully process that fact.

I was especially lucky, however, for all the support I received yesterday and along the way. That Heather was able to watch the event was especially great—not only is she my love, but we’ve been graduate student co-workers for the length of my PhD. Having her share the culminating moment was great. Also observing the defense were my Dad and PhD friends. My father has been an unabashed champion of getting the PhD done, especially during the dark moments about mid-way through where it just doesn’t seem like it might be worth it to finish. Nadine and Josh—Nadine a friend from undergrad and a member of my PhD student cohort; Josh a fellow environmental education scholar, conference co-conspirator and the “piano guy”—stayed for the three hour event and their interest and presence was inspiring. The tweets and Facebook messages from friends near and far really helped too!

I also need to thank my examination committee: my external, Dr. Janis Dickinson, travelled to Toronto over American Thanksgiving to attend the exam; my internal-external Dr. Steve Alsop; FES Dean’s representative, Dr. Martin Bunch; Exam chair and committee member Dr. Jennifer Foster; and my other committee members, Dr. Ray Rogers and Dr. Alice Hovorka. The questions in the defense were thought-provoking, fair and challenging; I look forward to engaging with these in future work.

Finally, I have to recognize the support, friendship, critical thinking and mentorship of my supervisor Dr. Leesa Fawcett. We’ve been working together since I arrived on-campus at York in the fall of 2002 to start my Masters in Environmental Studies and I feel like we share my success yesterday.

OK, as I tweeted yesterday, I’m off to add “, PhD” to everything I own.

Posted in: Academia Tagged: Academia, Faculty of Environmental Studies, PhD, york university

Thinking about Next

September 13, 2010 by Gavan Leave a Comment

Cox Creek Tunnel
Creative Commons License photo credit: mikecogh

With my dissertation all done but the crying defence, thoughts inevitably turn to answer the question, “What’s next?” I know that the sooner I have plans in place, the happier Gavan I am. I have, in fact, been thinking about this since early in the year, anticipating that I would be done and need something lined up. I’ve been mum on discussing these developments here because, in part, I either turned down opportunities or was not selected. In another parallel universe, however, I am a faculty member on a three year contract or a post-doctoral researcher in Ontario or Florida. It would appear that I’m much more accomplished in parallel universes.

Posted in: Career Tagged: Academia, employment, job, post-doc, reflection

Academics that are also characters

September 18, 2008 by Gavan Leave a Comment

I signed myself up for an Academia.edu account yesterday. It seems like an interesting hybrid of an academic homepage and social networking site. Has the potential for being a useful place to network if more people sign up for it (currently there are 5 people who have signed up from York–seriously under-represented).

Regardless, I came across the page that Richard Tabor Greene had set-up and–wow–what an interesting guy he appears to be. A man of 113 research interests (by comparison, I thought I was pushing the envelope with my seven), Greene has an interesting breadth of academic interests ranging from writing books, to designing fashions, to composing J-rapp songs (I just googled J-rapp and apparently the whole Internet is as much in the dark as I am about this musical style) to planning to launch a new kind of university. What Dr Greene “does” in his own words:

1. I write large books on results of the Science of Excellence Research Project
2. I design fashions, products, interfaces, events for clients and my own work for global distribution
3. I teach research seminars at Japan’s 8th ranked (by employers) private university and send students to the world’s top ten grad schools
4. I research 16 areas including fractal interfaces, social automata, mass workshop event designs, cognitive and social psych of designs and interfaces.
5. I prepare for launch in 6 years time of a new kind of university (or add-on to existing universities) that I call Knowledge Epitome–I have a book laying it all out.
6. I compose J-rapp songs and run bi-monthly workshops wherein students compose songs
7. I write two comedy and 1 detective fiction novels
8. I daily create videos on 1 of the 8000 chapters I have already written–a one hour, 17 minute, and 7 minute video version of each chapter is done each day.

Ambitious. But is Greene for real? I mean listen to this stuff:

I have developed the most comprehensive, practical curriculum in creativity applied to invention, discovery, design, and business venturing in the world–92 courses, all tested on my Chinese and Japanese undergrads. I can transform passive East Asians into innovative Americans.

and stuff that goes beyond my understanding:

I have invented certain regularized fractal interfaces, one to replace all prose writing, another to replace web 2.0 browsers, another to replace current workgroup electronic cooperation topologies

Personal interests, you wonder? Dr. Greene has that outlined as well, ranging from “long distance cycling” to “inventing new forms of sex and eroticism.”

Dr. Greene, who can be contacted at richwows@gmail.com, has also listed his areas of expertise. My personal favourite:

KIMONO SportFormal FASHIONS–the fit and comfort of modern sports fabrics combined with Japan’s rare traditional weaves–catch everyone’s attention anywhere without effort–I did these fashion designs for years just for my own wearing and amusement and one day an inebriated newly rich Chinese gentlemen, in our Osaka Ritz Carlton, begged to buy what I was wearing–so without planning to I ended up eventually selling a few designs, though that was never my intent and is not now yet my interest;

If I have an academic career half as interesting as Dr. Greene’s, then I’ll be a happy man.

Posted in: Academia, Web Flotsam Tagged: Academia, academia.edu, Academics, richard tabor greene, strange, weird

About me

Gavan Watson headshot Work life? Director, Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning & Associate Vice President, Teaching and Learning at Memorial University with a Ph.D. in environmental education. Home life? Father, naturalist, photographer, husband, philosopher, & member of a hybrid human-dog pack.

Latest tweets

My Tweets

Three Teaching Things

Add your email below and subscribe to an email newsletter I author.

Flickr Photos

At the eastern edgeGolden light on Topsial BeachWinter light on the Topsail BluffsVOR-DMEFrost brocadeFirst freeze
More Photos

Keyword Cloud

Academia Academic Alaska birders Birding Birds blog Conference cupe 3903 Dissertation Environmental Education ethics Flickr goals handwriting higher ed house sparrow How-to learning map migration Natural History Nature note taking ontario photograph Photography presentation reflection research Review rondeau solution spring strike Support Teaching teaching assistants Technology Toronto twitter upgrade wordpress york strike york university

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2021 Gavan P.L. Watson.

Omega WordPress Theme by ThemeHall