Olivia Fleming

Olivia Fleming emphasizes community building in the classroom. Her approach fosters empathy, accountability and student engagement through collaborative dialogue and inclusive learning environments. 

“Honoring a legacy of critical and feminist scholarship on pedagogy, my priority as an educator is to build a community through the classroom which is informed by the needs and interests of my students,” she says. “Since my courses rely on discussion, a sense of community is essential for students to have empathy and actively listen to their peers who will not always ​​have the same worldview and experiences as them.”

Smaller class sizes at Transy allow Fleming to tailor content to student interests and build lasting relationships across semesters — strengthening both personal growth and academic rigor.

“I enjoy the opportunity to observe the ‘aha’ moments students have when applying concepts/theories to phenomena they can observe in their own lives,” Fleming says. “Students come from so many different paths and with unique talents that it’s really special to hear their thoughts on society and collectively brainstorm throughout the discussion on how we might solve real-world social problems.” 

Students are encouraged to engage in the research process in her courses, whether by designing original projects or contributing to faculty-led studies. Emphasis is placed on identifying gaps in literature and amplifying understudied experiences.

A liberal arts education empowers students with broad perspectives and empathetic problem-solving skills — essential tools for addressing complex social challenges.

“It’s important for students to gain an array of perspectives in order to effectively and thoughtfully solve problems,” Fleming says. “Without doing so, students are limited in their ability to problem solve and potentially engage with people unlike themselves. Pertaining to the latter, without a sense of empathy, social problems can compound. By gaining a liberal arts education, students come to realize the significance of different disciplines, perspectives and experiences — all of which are necessary to solve problems across our society and adequately fill positions in a diverse society and world.

“When I’m away from campus, you can usually find me watching films with my tabby cat, Joni Mitchell, or outdoors walking, biking, hiking and taking in all that nature has to offer. I’m also a big fan of reading and try to encourage as many people as possible to take advantage of the magic of local libraries (have you heard of the Libby app?).”