Leading the way for women

On Tuesday night, about 100 women gathered together to discuss a very familiar subject: women.

The fourth annual Freshman Women's Dinner, held in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge, was run by the Women in Leadership Series, a campus organization founded by six undergraduate women in 1996 to increase awareness of the role of women in leadership positions on campus and to encourage women to become leaders.

Over salad, chicken and grilled vegetables, upperclasswomen in leadership positions chatted with freshman women about their college experiences.

"By meeting upperclassmen, freshman women can see what it takes to be a leader on campus and what type of ambition it takes to get there," College junior and Women in Leadership Series member Patricia Maloney said.

College senior Katherine Sledge, an invited leader, said she does not see a shortage of women in Penn leadership, saying that there are "certain activities that women seem to dominate the leadership."

Despite the multitude of women in leadership, Sledge said she believes that this program is still effective because some women are very shy, noting that she did not consider herself "a potential leader until last spring."

The freshmen in attendance enjoyed the evening as well. College freshman Diana Vining was a student leader in high school and is already involved in several campus activities. She said she enjoyed the opportunity to talk to upperclasswomen about their personal experiences.

"It's great that they have there programs for women because, especially at a large university," Vining said, "it is hard for women to obtain leadership roles."

College freshman Catie Tupper is also already involved in campus organizations and hopes to join a sorority. She recommended the dinner for future freshmen because it "opens up new possibilities."

Valerie Swain-Cade McCoullum, the University's top student life official, was the evening's featured speaker and commended the series members for their hard work and accomplishments. She also encouraged freshmen to get involved.

McCoullum explained that when she came to Penn in 1977, men dominated the University, both in the undergraduate and graduate programs.

That is no longer the case. Even so, McCoullum said that "there are still issues of major choice." She encouraged the women to "take risks, and go beyond what is intellectually safe."

She glanced around the room at the group of attentive young women, and then at the portraits of older men that adorn the walls.

"Look around the room. There are no women on the walls," she said. "We're going to put the women on the walls!"

Though Penn is one of the nation's leaders in women's leadership, starting all the way at the top with University President Judith Rodin, McCoullum said she thinks that all universities can benefit from more tenured women faculty, more women in high positions in government and more women in high-ranking positions at international corporations.

"All of you people in Wharton, go out there and make a lot of money," she said. "Now is the time to go en masse and take over everything."

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