Students meet dean - and his dog, too

Besides knowing that he is the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and has an adorable dog, most students probably know little about College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman. But a group of 10 students gathered Thursday for a chance to find out a little more about the man behind the dog. The Dean's Advisory Board organized the luncheon as a jumpstart for next semester's planned "Take your Professor to Lunch" program. While munching on pizza in Logan Hall, Beeman began his introductions, starting with Chief Justice John Marshmallow, his Bernese mountain dog. The seven-year-old companion, originally raised to be a show dog, looked on with hungry eyes as the students exchanged names, majors and University affiliations. The four seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen making up the group represented nearly every facet of Penn, from Greeks to members of student-activist associations. "I thought it would be interesting because I don't really know much about the dean," College junior Jennifer Cohn said. "I thought it would be nice to sit down and personalize someone you hear about and read about." Beeman had similar sentiments about spending time with students. "As a teacher you don't really always get to know about what's going on in young folks' minds." The dean discussed a variety of topics with students, relating to everything from academics to the social scene at Penn. The casual talk began with a question the dean posed to the freshmen, which proved to be just as difficult for the upperclassmen to answer: "What the hell are you doing here anyway?" As the students fumbled to justify their existence at Penn, the general conclusion was that the answer changes every year. Even the dean, with 31 years of experience as a Penn history professor, recalled his college days at the University of California at Berkeley when he was sure he wanted to major in business. But, he recalled, "Fall semester sophomore year I remember taking an accounting class and an American history class and I so loved it and I so hated accounting that I changed my major to history." True to that experience, Beeman addressed the majority of the students in the room who had not yet decided what they wanted to do with their futures, emphasizing the importance of an education that "has less to do with the specific content of what you learn, but the process." He added, "One size does not fit all when talking about the needs of college students." The students said they were pleased with the luncheon. "He was a very interesting person to listen to and very open to helping undergrads in all facets of their life here at Penn," College sophomore Margaret Grillo said. "I thought this was a great forum; he was very receptive to us," added College junior Sara Coelho. "I think he's really been thinking about things that are concerning us as students."