Dr Yvonne McLaren

Job title

Dean of the University

Qualifications

MA (Hons), MLitt, PhD

Yvonne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, within the School of Social Sciences, and was elected to the position of University Dean for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in April 2023. Yvonne has been an academic member of staff at Heriot-Watt University since 1997 and has served on many groups and committees at School and University level. She is particularly experienced in learning and teaching and educational leadership, and in the area of academic quality. Yvonne is the Chair of the University Studies Committee and Vice-Chair of the University Committee for Quality and Standards. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Yvonne has a Master of Arts degree with Honours in Interpreting and Translating (French and German) from Heriot-Watt University, a Master of Letters in Language Studies from the University of St Andrews and a Doctor of Philosophy in Languages (text linguistics and translation studies) from Heriot-Watt University.

Yvonne has held a wide variety of roles during her career at Heriot-Watt University, including School of Social Sciences Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes and Head of the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies. Yvonne has experience of serving on Senate and a range of the University's committees; as a result, she has a detailed knowledge and understanding of academic and quality matters which she hopes will allow her to make a useful contribution to Court.

Yvonne's main areas of interest are in learning and teaching and academic quality, especially programme design, development and approvals, and academic regulations. She is also very interested in everything to do with staffing and the staff experience, including appointment, probation and promotion, and she is a mentor to early career staff, a role she particularly enjoys.

Outside work, Yvonne spends most of her free time either running or in the gym. She also likes to travel when she can.