Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning

Yakut Gazi was appointed as Vice-Provost for Teaching and Learning and Professor at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary starting on April 15, 2026. She is responsible for the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, institutional strategy in teaching excellence, curriculum innovation, and student experience.

Previously, Dr. Gazi served as Vice Provost for Learning Innovation and Digital Education at Duke University, where she founded the Office of Learning Innovation and Lifetime Education (LILE), overseeing pedagogical innovation, digital education strategy, youth academic enrichment, and continuing and lifelong learning. Before Duke, Dr. Gazi held senior leadership roles at Georgia Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University's Dwight Look College of Engineering, and faculty and staff positions at Texas A&M-Central Texas, Texas A&M at Qatar, the University of Barcelona, and Boğaziçi University.

With more than 33 years of experience across five countries, Dr. Gazi has been a sustained voice in shaping the future of higher education. She has served on the Coursera Open Content Council, the Grammarly Customer Advisory Board, and the Academic Advisory Council for Quality Matters, and held elected leadership positions with the International Association for Engineering Continuing Education (IACEE) and the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA).

Dr. Gazi holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University, an M.A. in Educational Sciences, and a B.S. in Teaching Chemistry, both from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, where she was born and raised. She lives in Calgary with her husband and daughter.