C. Edward Watson

Dr. C. Edward Watson is the Vice President for Digital Innovation with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). There, he leads the association’s national and state-level advocacy to advance quality in undergraduate student learning. This includes programming and a scholarly agenda that focuses on general education, teaching and learning practice, and evidence-based instruction enhanced by technology. For the latter, key foci include artificial intelligence (A.I.), digital equity, and open learning. “Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024) is his latest book. His book series on General Education Reform (Routledge) will arrive in early 2025. Prior to joining AAC&U in the summer of 2017, Dr. Watson was the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia (UGA) where he led university efforts associated with faculty development, TA development, student learning outcomes assessment, learning technologies, media production services, classroom support and learning spaces, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. He also taught a range of courses on College Teaching, Student Learning, and Course Design. He continues to serve as a Fellow in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at UGA. Dr. Watson has 25 years of experience in faculty and instructional development. Dr. Watson has been an invited keynote speaker on campuses and at a variety of conferences, including events by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative Annual Meeting, the Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, the Teaching Professor Conference, the Leadership in Higher Education Conference, the Assessment Institute and others. He was also recently quoted in the New York Times, CNN, Chronicle of Higher Education, NPR, Campus Technology, Diverse Education, EdSurge, University Business Magazine, UK Financial Times, and Consumer Reports regarding teaching and learning issues and trends in higher education.