Dr. Byrad Yyelland

Specialization

Sociology

Education

• EdD University of Calgary
• MA University of Saskatchewan
• BA (Hons) University of Saskatchewan

Biography

Byrad Yyelland is Interim Director of the Liberal Arts & Sciences program at VCUarts Qatar. This is the largest program on this campus, comprising all liberal and sciences disciplines. Byrad also teaches undergraduate courses in the social/behavioral sciences, usually Sociology. Byrad’s educational background includes a BA (Hons) in Psychology and MA Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, and an EdD in Educational Leadership from the University of Calgary, also in Canada. He also has extensive experience in private contract research. Byrad is an accredited facilitator of Instructional Skills Workshops and for Appreciative Inquiry work. He is a member of Qatar Foundation Speakers Bureau and was an invited presenter at the inaugural TedX Education City event in 2012 held in Doha, Qatar.

Byrad is also chief instructor of Shito-Ryu Karate-do Genbu-Kai Qatar. 

Research Interests

Byrad has a wide-range of research interests. His curiosity is deep and he is always looking for new projects in interesting and interdisciplinary areas. In recent years he has focused primarily on identity, emotion in the workplace, interpretation and education. He is Primary Investigator for a large National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) grant received in 2012. This project features an extensive one-year ethnographic analysis of artist communities in various locations around the world and a proposal for a highly innovative artist community in Qatar. Byrad has also been successful in achieving research grants for projects such an ethnographic study and video documentary of a favela in Rio de Janeiro. Future projects include an investigation of alumnae perceptions regarding the impact of VCUarts Qatar over the past 15 years.

Presentations

Publications

1. Forthcoming With Bianchi, R., AI-based Strategic Planning in Qatar’s First American Campus. AI Practitioner: The Long Term Impact of Appreciative Inquiry at Colleges and Universities, May 2014. 
2. Forthcoming With West, P., Keane, J. & Jeremijenko, V., Souvenirs of the Senses: Collaborative and Cross-Artform Makings. Conference Proceedings, AAWP Writing Conference 18, Canberra, Australia. 
3. 2012 An American Honors Program in the Arab Gulf. Journal of The National Collegiate Honors Council, 13(2), 107-117. 
4. 2012 Setting the Stage for Sociological Analyses of Emotion and Kotter’s Organizational Culture Change Process. World Journal of Social Sciences, 2(7), 270-278. Retrieve from http://www.wbiaus.org/wjss_new.html.