A steady stream of students moved through the Lowell House Junior Common Room yesterday evening, to meet Drew Gilpin Faust, dean of the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study, at a tea sponsored by the Women's Leadership Project (WLP).

Munching on cookies and sipping tea, students spoke with Faust on a range of topics--from women in the sciences to Radcliffe's new role at Harvard as a research-driven institute.

Faust said she was excited to hear students' concerns about women's issues on campus and their thoughts on how Radcliffe might be involved with undergraduates.

When then Radcliffe College merged with Harvard in the spring of 1999, it relinquished all formal responsibility for female undergraduates. But many at Radcliffe have envisioned an Institute still involved with College students.

"I'm really interested in setting up connections with some undergraduate groups to see what kinds of connections they'd like to have with Radcliffe," Faust said.

C. Coble Armstrong '02, a WLP member, said she came to the tea because she wanted to learn more about Faust.

"I wanted to hear what her ideas were," Armstrong said. "It's also nice to get a chance to interact with her in an informal setting."

David J. Bright '02 said his presence was intended to show that men too were interested in the new Radcliffe.

"It's important to show some kind of male support at the beginning," Bright said.

The tea was advertised via word of mouth and e-mails sent to various student groups on campus.