On Thursday, The Towerlight was granted 30 minutes of Towson University President Maravene Loeschke’s jam-packed schedule for an interview about her goals for the rest of the semester and plans for the future.

As our team put away their video and photography equipment, Loeschke turned to her assistant, who sat in on the interview.

“Can we ask about the hours of the dining hall on the Old Side of campus?” she said. “Students are asking if it can be open for longer hours. If there’s a reason why it can’t, I understand. I just want to ask.”

Loeschke’s question, however innocent, spoke volumes about her presidential style.

Between her trips to Annapolis for budget hearings and meetings with faculty to discuss the implementation of the 2016 Strategic Plan, Loeschke has taken the time to talk with Towson University students and actually remembers their complaints.

In our interview, Loeschke said her empathy for students, faculty and staff comes from the experience she has had in each of their roles.

She is one of only two Towson University presidents who attended the institution as a student, which local news sources and University Marketing have emphasized.

What hasn’t been as thoroughly discussed and was only recently brought to my attention is the advantage Loeschke’s Towson education could have in her presidency.

After receiving her Bachelor of Science in theatre and English, Loeschke was a professor and chairperson of the department of theatre arts, as well as the dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.

When it comes down to it, Towson University’s 13th president is an actor.

In a January feature, The Baltimore Sun detailed Loeschke’s undergraduate career in theatre, which she said prepared her for administrative positions.

“Everything ties back to it: conflict resolution, debate, time management, critical thinking, people skills,” Loeschke said in the Sun article.

Her well-crafted answers to my questions prove the value of an arts degree to any parent reluctant to let their child major in acting, but is “Concerned President” Loeschke’s current role?

Will she next star as “Fiscal Tyrant,” when the Maryland legislature cuts our budget and tuition goes up?

Two months into Loeschke’s presidency, it’s hard to tell. Who knows: If countless Towerlight stories of Old Side residents’ cries for Newell to remain open on the weekends aren’t getting through to dining administrators, maybe the president’s comments will.