Meredith Flynn, Ph.D., associate director of teaching and learning at the Center for Teaching, Learning and Design at Metropolitan State University in Denver, began her exploration of the intersections of activism and education while working on her dissertation, which was a qualitative analysis of the work of a professional experimental feminist theatre group. Her work in feminist/political theatre introduced her to the work of Augusto Boal and Theatre of the Oppressed and she was extremely fortunate enough to have been able to attend intensive workshops led by Boal. That naturally lead to her studying the work of Paulo Freire including Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Since that time, her teaching philosophy has been firmly grounded in Freire’s work.
Flynn first began thinking seriously about faculty development and inclusive pedagogy when teaching at Bowling Green State University. There she developed the course Exploring Cultural Diversity Through Performance for the Theatre and Film department and taught for many years with the Chapman Learning Community, a residential, first-year learning community where the faculty are all committed to incorporating high-impact teaching practices in their courses.
In her role as associate director of teaching and learning at MSU Denver, Flynn works collaboratively with the director, faculty, and departments to foster professional development in pedagogy, course and curriculum development, and academic success with tenure and promotion. Most recently, she is working on a project she proposed to be funded through CARES Act money managed by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This unique collaboration between the two offices has her facilitating an ACUE Effective Online Teaching Practices Course and enhancing the ACUE curriculum by making connections between that curriculum and anti-racist pedagogy and bringing in practitioners of anti-racist pedagogy to share their knowledge and experience with the faculty participants.
