New Faculty Q&A: Katy Oliver

Kathryn Boyer Oliver ’16 is returning to Randolph—this time as a faculty member—nearly a decade after finishing her undergraduate degree here.

“Working at Randolph is my dream job for about 100 reasons,” said Oliver, a visiting assistant professor of English. “I have the privilege of joining an exceptional faculty, many of whom I studied with as an undergraduate. Randolph holds many warm memories for me, and it is thrilling to observe how it has changed over time without losing its essential character.”

Oliver studied English with an emphasis in creative writing and, after graduation, earned her  masters in English literature and her PhD in English literature and visual studies from Pennsylvania State University. 

“I started becoming the person and scholar that I wanted to be here,” said Oliver, who also married her husband, Nik Oliver ’16, ’20 MFA, on campus. “After all this time, I feel such an abiding love for this place—nowhere has been more fundamental to giving my life shape and direction.” 

This fall, she’s teaching a Reading Poetry course, as well as Writing in College and Reading Gender. 

“I took some of these classes back when I was a student here,” Oliver said, “so it’s a bit surreal to be at the helm of them now.” 

What interested you in your field of study? 

I started college pretty certain that I wanted to pursue a degree in the humanities, but I wasn’t totally sure which field interested me most. A wonderful high school Latin professor helped me apply for Randolph’s Classics Book Award Scholarship, so initially I thought I would study classics. The more classes I took with the English faculty, though, the more I felt attracted to the work of creative writing, literary analysis, and criticism. 

I worked on an honors project with professor Gary Dop, and that really crystallized things for me—not only did I want to pursue English for my own ends, but I also wanted to learn to teach others to approach composition and exegesis like I had been taught. Things kind of snowballed from there into grad school, where I waffled between the study of the digital humanities and the British romantics for an unconscionable amount of time. Eventually I settled on Romanticism because I sensed more of an affinity with it; its inner fixations resembled my own, as did its peccadilloes and its idiosyncrasies.

Describe your teaching style. What can students expect in your classes?

I like to bring a lot of energy to the classroom, and that is directly attributable to my experiences as a student. One of my favorite memories of attending classes at Randolph is of studying Brit Lit with the inimitable Dr. Bill Coulter, who always taught with a wry grin on his face. He taught me that intellectual rigor doesn’t necessarily exclude a sense of playfulness—and that playfulness needn’t exclude a high standard of rigor. 

What are your initial impressions of Randolph, as it is now, and its current students?

I’ve always thought of Randolph as a kind of hortus conclusus—a walled garden that both protects and nurtures whoever steps inside. That impression has only intensified as I’ve gotten older. 

Like I mentioned before, it’s wonderful to see the campus evolve and grow as the years go by, especially with the arrival of President Sue Ott Rowlands, who has such an exciting vision for Randolph’s future. All the students I have met, too, have been so delightful, vivacious, and engaging. I can’t wait to have more opportunities to work with them.

What do you like to do outside of the classroom as far as hobbies or other activities?

I love video games, especially games with a strong sense of atmosphere like Dark Souls and the Batman: Arkham series. I also love reading and creative writing, which probably isn’t shocking coming from an English professor. The hobby I’m most obsessed with right now is Dungeons & Dragons. I play every week with my friends and family!