Dean for a Day, an event in which deans and students switched places for a day, went off without a hitch on Tuesday.

The deans and students started the day with breakfast at 7:30. A speaker from the American Cancer Society addressed the crowd. The deans and their assigned students were introduced and made plans for the rest of the day.

Elizabeth Hoffman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was not able to attend student Kyle Brown’s classes, a junior in anthropology, but she did show him the everyday duties of being a dean.

She started the day with a meeting to plan Tuesday’s events. She took him to a benefit for Iowa State’s journalism department at the Meredith Corporation in Des Moines. She then escorted him to the NEXUS Executive Women’s Alliance meeting. She also had him attend a LAS cabinet meeting.

The Dean of the College of Agriculture, David Topel, was able to attend the classes of the student with whom he switched places with for the day.

Topel went to James Newberry’s horticulture and turf grass management courses. Topel then took James to an interview for the professor of horticulture position. They attended the Swan Research Facility dedication and the Annual Conference for Extension at the Scheman Center.

Topel said James had never been to the Scheman Center so it was quite an experience for him. They also spoke with Provost John Kozak.

Topel said the Dean for a Day program, “allows people to have a better understanding of the university system” and the “program has merit.”

James Melsa, dean of the College of Engineering, said, “It’s a great idea.” He flew his student to Muscatine for the Carver Trust Operation, a fund-raising event for the new engineering complex.

Melsa was not able to attend classes because his student only had one class before their trip to Muscatine. Melsa said his student was not able to attend the class he taught that night either. They are trying to schedule a time that would be convenient for both of them to have Melsa attend classes.

The Dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, Beverly Crabtree, said she enjoyed attending Adrianna Heywood’s classes. Crabtree attended Adrianna’s food economics, food science, and food microbiology classes. They studied the price for milk and butter fat and fermentation. Crabtree said she took notes like crazy.

She added, “We both gained an appreciation for each other’s positions.”