BOLLI Member Spotlight: Marjorie Arons-Barron
July 2, 2024
by Madison Sirois, Marketing Specialist, Rabb School of Continuing Studies
One of BOLLI’s greatest strengths is the group of people who make up our dynamic community. In this new spotlight series, we aim to highlight the perspectives and life experiences of some of BOLLI’s incredible members. If you or someone you know has a story to share with the BOLLI community, please message bolli@brandeis.edu.
Meet Marjorie Arons-Barron
If you’re a member of BOLLI, chances are you’ve been in a course with Marjorie “Margie” Arons-Barron. A long-time Newton resident and self-described “townie,” Margie has been an active member of BOLLI for nine years. Prior to joining, Margie had a 30-year career in journalism and communications, winning numerous awards for her role as editorial director at Boston’s ABC affiliate, WCVB-TV, Channel 5. In 2019, she was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Margie’s career in journalism began during the antiwar movement in 1971, when she started writing articles for an activist-led local paper in Newton. Soon enough, she found herself reporting for the Ten O’Clock News on WGBH, Channel Two, and covering presidential campaigns for the Boston Phoenix, where she shared a byline with her now husband. In 1979, she began writing editorials for WCVB-TV and quickly rose to the position of editorial director, appearing on-air three times a day and producing and moderating a political affairs discussion program on Sunday mornings.
Margie’s experience with WCVB-TV was one of the most rewarding parts of her career. “It was a time when there were only three major networks. There was no cable at the time, so our audience was a potential three million people,” Margie explained. “There really was an opportunity to make an impact.”
And make an impact, Margie did. Not only did Margie cover important local topics like the Big Dig — where she had the opportunity to “ride in a little cart with a helmet on [her] head” to see the unfinished tunnel infrastructure — but she also spoke to the public about many controversial issues, such as gun safety, energy, housing, healthcare and women’s right to choose. Most importantly, Margie always “made it a point to take all phone calls” and facilitated on-air responses to the station editorials.
“My feeling was that if I showed up in people's homes every day telling them a course of action or way to think about something, that I owed them that kind of accessibility [to respond],” Margie explained to BOLLI. Margie still remains committed to this principle today, encouraging feedback and discourse on her articles about books, politics, and more on her personal blog.
Not only was Margie able to make an impact through her journalism, but she also was able to gain incredible access to “people in the highest places” and investigate some of “the most interesting spheres of human activity.” For example, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Margie had the opportunity to spend a month in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union with a group of editorialists. “We were in meetings with top government officials, labor leaders, academics and students,” Margie told BOLLI. “It was eye opening.”
After leading such an exciting career, it is no wonder that Margie was reluctant to give up her pursuit of knowledge upon retirement. Although Margie continued working after leaving WCVB — starting her own communications firm alongside her attorney husband in 2000 — she admitted that, after 15 years of consulting, she started feeling “a little bit restless.” It is this irresistible intellectual itch that provoked Margie’s decision to join BOLLI.
A few of Margie’s friends had taken classes at BOLLI and loved them, and when Margie took a look at the course catalog, she found that many of the offerings piqued her interest. “I was still working when I joined, but I was thinking ahead,” Margie told BOLLI. “So I basically bowed to their pressure — and I never looked back.”
For Margie, BOLLI was “the perfect way to create a seamless transition to [her] post-working world.” With courses covering a wide range of topics, BOLLI has been a way for Margie to satisfy her intellectual curiosity and continue her commitment to critical thinking.
While Margie’s favorite courses are the music classes taught by Gil Harel, the courses Margie has taken on forensic anthropology, the roots of Israeli society, and James Joyce’s Ulysses also stand out to her as being particularly captivating. “I think that the curriculum committee has done a fabulous job, and the course offerings have gotten better and better every year,” Margie said.
As a well-traveled individual — having visited all continents except Antarctica — Margie particularly appreciates how BOLLI includes instructors from around the world. “I’ve had great teachers from Athens, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Toronto, and there may be others who teach courses that I haven’t taken,” Margie explained. “But that means that, combined with some outstanding member teachers (Study Group Leaders), the quality of the learning experience is at the intellectual level one wants. … And that, to me, is what’s high-value in the Brandeis interpretation of BOLLI.”
Margie also appreciates the connections that she has made with other members of the BOLLI community. “I've met very, very bright people who have both a wealth of experience and depth of intellect that make it a very productive and meaningful experience,” Margie told BOLLI. “There are also great friendships that come out of that.”
Of course, taking courses at BOLLI isn’t the only way Margie keeps her mind active these days. In fact, even though she is technically retired, Margie says that she is “busier than [she] ever has been.” Not only is Margie an officer for her alumnae class at Wellesley College, but she has also been an active member of the Board of Advisors at the Boston Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, working on increasing the diversity of its audience and the symphony’s ties to the local community. She is also regularly called upon to moderate candidate debates in her hometown elections.
Most recently, Margie has joined the Editorial Advisory Council of The Newton Beacon — a new online publication seeking to revive local journalism in the Newton area. As an advisor, Margie works alongside fellow veteran journalists to edit Letters to the Editor and be a sounding board for the Editor.
“I feel as if I've kind of gone back to where I began more than half a century ago,” Margie told BOLLI. Although Margie says that restoring local journalism is “a slow process,” it’s an incredibly important one — and “it’s happening across the country.”
Although Margie is very busy outside of BOLLI, she has also found time to get more involved with the behind-the-scenes work of the program — and she encourages all BOLLI members to do the same.
“I've been very involved in the Distinguished Speakers Series,” Margie said. “[BOLLI] is always looking for people who want the kind of intellectually challenging and friendship-generating experience of serving on a committee. And like any other organization, if you're involved in it, if you invest some time into committee work, then it becomes much more meaningful to you.”
To all individuals on the fence about joining BOLLI, Margie says to “just do it.” The quality of the courses Margie has taken and the strength of the connections she has made through BOLLI have all made the membership worthwhile. In Margie’s own words, “[BOLLI] is a kind of eternal growth experience. And you know what? What's in the name, lifelong learning, can be very exciting.”
To read Margie’s current work, please visit her blog. To learn more about BOLLI and our membership options, please visit our website.