Climbing Above the Culture Clash

Professor Robert Volk (’78) recalled
Margo’s dedication. “I first met Margo
when I was a student at BU Law,
working in the law library. From time
to time, I would be sent to the Dean’s
Office to make deliveries and run errands
for Margo. She seemed to run the law
school. When I joined the law school
in 1980, first with the Morin Center,
and then as director of the Writing
Program, I learned that Margo really did
run the law school! Her hard work and
dedication to the law school cannot be
overstated, and we will all miss her.”
Margo was witness to great
transformations at BU Law. She
made the move from the School’s
former location on Beacon Hill at
11 Ashburton Place to its current
site at 765 Commonwealth Avenue.
At the start of her career, BU Law
graduated around 90 people each year.
Today, the School graduates nearly
500 J.D. and LL.M. students.
“We’ve become quite a different law
school in the years Margo has been here.
And Margo reminds us that we were
just a little downtown law school,” said
Professor David Seipp, who worked
with Margo in her efforts to preserve
and document BU Law’s history.
Through all the changes, her dedication
to the School’s community never
faltered. It was the connections she
made over the years that she valued
most about her experience at BU Law.
“For her, it wasn’t just, ‘Oh, I met
you; hello, goodbye,’” said Irene
Moustakas, director of Personnel
Services at BU Law and a close friend
of Margo’s since Margo hired her in
1951. “It meant a great deal to her
to have that contact with students.
She liked it, and they appreciated it.
They appreciated that someone cared
about them enough to stay in touch.
She went out of her way to be nice to
them and ask about their families.”
BU Law and Boston University honored
Margo many times for her unwavering
support. She was the first recipient
of the Student Bar Association award
honoring outstanding service and
contribution to the student body in
“
Margo was a rare and delightful person,”
said Dean Maureen O’Rourke. “She nurtured
and supported our law students and alumni
for more than half a century.
”
1987. Later that year, she received the
John S. Perkins Distinguished Service
Award. This award is presented annually
by the Boston University Faculty
Council for those who have “served the
University with great distinction and
have made important contributions
toward the goals of the University.”
In 1988, Margo received the Silver
Shingle Award, the highest honor given
by the law school, for Distinguished
Service to the School of Law. She
received the Gerard H. Cohen
Award in 1995. At the reception
for the latter honor, a description of
Margo’s accomplishments stated, “By
1983, she had total responsibility for
the operational budget, personnel
and payroll, faculty appointments,
accreditation reports and countless other
administrative duties. She was literally a
one-woman administration.” Professor
Seipp noted, “We’ve essentially been
replacing Margo with whole staffs.”
At the 125th anniversary of Boston
University School of Law in 1997, the
Annual Alumni Gala was held in honor
of Margo for her 50 years of service to
the School. Margo told BU Today, “I
can’t imagine anyone having a better
time anywhere than I’ve had here….
I’ve enjoyed my years here so much
that they haven’t seemed like work.”
Robert Kent (’49) said in his speech
honoring Margo during this event, “It is
often said that no one is indispensable.
Maybe so, but this woman came close.”
“The larger part of Margo’s effect has
not come from her ability to administer,
advise and direct the life of the School,”
said then-Dean Ronald A. Cass in a
letter announcing the event. “It has
been a simple and rare quality: she
loves people so readily and fully that we
cannot help falling in love with her.”
This seemed especially true for the law
students at the School whom Margo
cared for long past their graduations.
“I first met Margo 53 years ago when
I was a first-year law student,” said
Morton Aronson (’59). “She had great
empathy and understanding of the trials
and tribulations of law students. Margo
always went the extra mile to be helpful.”
In many cases, her service to the students
is what alumni remember best about
their experience at BU Law. “She stayed
in touch with graduates throughout
the country — and the world, for that
matter. To the students, although she
never admitted or acknowledged it, she
really functioned as the School’s ‘go
to’ person. She was the one a student
would turn to in the event of a problem
or question,” said Paul Sugarman
(’54). “Margo is synonymous with the
Boston University School of Law.”
It was clear that Margo loved the
law school, and the School of Law
was fortunate to have been her
second home for so many years.
“Margo Hagopian is one of a
kind,” said Sugarman. “There is
no mold, and I doubt that there
will ever be another Margo.” •
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