Kay Mussell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, mingled with students, gave a speech and answered questions at her Dialogue with the Dean event Wednesday night in the McDowell formal lounge.
"I'm really impressed with the quality of questions students ask," she said. "I never get quite the questions I'm expecting, which is a good thing."
Mussell spoke about her experience at AU as the only female dean of a school. When she came here about 30 years ago, she was pleased to see so many women in upper administration at a time when women were encouraged only to teach.
"There were women here who were mentoring other women. ... There were a lot of faculty to helped us [women] realize our full potential," she said.
About 40 students attended the event, which is the fourth in the Dialogue with the Dean series, which is hosted in McDowell Hall by staff and professor Joseph Campbell. Campbell's office is located in the residence hall.
The next Dialogue on April 6 will feature William LeoGrande of the School of Public Affairs.
The first dean to speak in the series was Larry Kirkman of the School of Communication, followed by Louis Goodman of the School of International Service and Claudio Grossman of the Washington College of Law.
