Four leading female Penn professors formed a panel yesterday to discuss their groundbreaking achievements as women.
The trail-blazing female professors shared stories and offered advice to a crowd of 30 students in Houston Hall as part of the Women in Leadership Series, which features several prominent women speakers throughout the year.
Only two males were in the audience yesterday.
The theme of the panel discussion was breaking barriers, and each of the panelists had been the first female in her respective field to achieve success in either academia or politics.
For example, panelist Andrea Grotolli is the first female tenure-tracked professor in the Earth and Environmental Science Department at Penn.
The event began with remarks from Organic Chemistry Professor and panelist Madeleine Joullie, who was the first female full professor in the United States. Joullie advised students to not worry about their future and go with the flow of life.
"I never saw myself as a teacher," she said. "I didn't need the money, and I didn't like people."
Joullie credits her mentor with discovering her passion for science and teaching.
College sophomore Grace Chien, a student in one of Joullie's classes, was surprised by her professor's demeanor yesterday.
"Her dry sense of humor doesn't come out as much in class," she said.
The panel also included Italian and Film Studies Professor Millicent Marcus, and Fels Center of Government lecturer and former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky.
Marcus, who has been a pioneer in the study of Italian cinema, spoke about the open attitude towards women at Penn.
"I felt that everyone I dealt with [in the administration] was a middle-aged woman with children," she said.
Grotolli agreed that female professors at Penn are treated fairly, yet pointed out the nationwide trend of less frequent and lower funding for projects conducted by female professors.
Margolies-Mezvinsky shared the story of her path to success in both media and politics. She defied political odds by defeating a Republican male and winning a seat in the 1992 Congress.
"I walked into the delegation, and felt like a flaming ovary," she said.
Margolies-Mezvinsky, who was the first single mother to adopt a foreign child in the United States, also shared her passion for motherhood.
"Raising children is the most wonderful thing you could possibly do," she said.
Her comments sparked a minor debate among the panelists.
"I love children... in other peoples' homes," Joullie joked.
College senior Leslie Drogin, a member of the Women in Leadership Series planning committee, enjoyed the diversity of the panel.
"It was nice to get the perspectives of four different women," she said.
