Journalist Mitchell offers first College 'Lesson in Leadership'

U. Trustee Andrea Mitchell lamented Americans' loss of political activism. Addressing issues ranging from the presidential primaries to the increasing apathy among American voters to student activism at Penn, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell told students to simply "throw [themselves] into something and know that it is meaningful." Talking before 80 students in Logan Hall last night, Mitchell -- a 1967 College of Women alumna and University Trustee -- was the first guest speaker in a new lecture series, the Fox Leadership Program's Lessons in Leadership. "The role of leaders has changed in our society," Mitchell said. She noted that there have been shifts in how the media cover society, and was also critical of public apathy in the United States, saying that "if people don't care about politics, then there is a tendency among some in the media to say, 'We don't need to cover that.'" The consequence, she lamented, is that "our political process, so dependent upon an informed public, is now susceptible to leaders who use gimmicks." Mitchell also described Penn during her university days. With the war in Vietnam a major issue, students rallied often. In recent years, Penn students have often been criticized for their lack of activism on national and global issues. Women's rights were also a primary concern for Mitchell and others in the 1960s. She observed that there was resistance to women among all of the Ivies, except at Penn. Although Mitchell was actually denied entrance to Yale's press booth at one Penn-Yale football game, she was the first female program director of the University's radio station, WXPN. After she graduated, Mitchell went to work for WKYW radio in Philadelphia -- on the "bottom rung," as she put it. Breaking into a business dominated by men in the late 1960s was not easy. She had to take a job as a "copy-boy" on the midnight to 8 a.m. shift and fetch coffee for the anchors. But she eventually reached the pinnacle of her profession, serving as NBC's chief congressional correspondent, chief White House correspondent and now chief foreign affairs correspondent. Mitchell also highlighted the need to get out into the community. Students who attended the event agreed. "People are not seeing the link between community service and political activism," College senior Debra Kurshan said. And that was what Mitchell wanted to stress. School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston said that this first event in the Fox Leadership Program -- funded by a $10 million donation to the College of Arts and Sciences by University Trustee Robert Fox -- is indicative of the series' potential. "Leadership is a high-energy concept that must be elevated throughout the College," Preston said. Those who attended were inspired by this story. "I think she is a great role model for students and women," College senior Jill Kleczko said. "What I liked is that what she said didn't necessarily apply to a budding journalist," College freshman Alicia Simmons said.