Margie & Don Arsen

Mr. Donald H. (Don) & Mrs. Marjorie (Margie) Arsen are long-serving educators and civic boosters in Waterford Township and southeast Michigan.

Don and Margie are graduates of Central Michigan University. Beginning in 1949 through his retirement in 1985, Don was a teacher, counselor, elementary principal, and director of adult education in the Waterford Schools. He is also a past president of the Jaycees-Waterford Chapter, a member of the Waterford Rotary, and served as an officer of the Waterford Education Association. He served for over 30 years as a board trustee of the Waterford Foundation for Public Education, which he helped launch in 1984. Margie was a pioneer at the Stepanski Early Childhood Center, where she taught for 23 years. She retired in 1983.

Don numbers among the Founders of Oakland Community College. In 1964, he volunteered for and financially supported the Community College Citizens Committee. The Committee worked successfully to put the creation and funding of OCC on the countywide ballot. He also stood for election to its first Board of Trustees. He and his family tirelessly canvassed and spoke in support of creating the College.

Together, Don and Margie have worked on and established important programs to advance education. These included Teacher of the Year; Select 50, honoring 25 seniors from Waterford Kettering and Waterford Mott high schools; the Margie Arsen Early Childhood Education Fund; the Globetrotters project, rewarding the most improved students at a Detroit public school; and a program to honor the top 10 students at Waterford Durant High School.

This endowed scholarship is established in celebration of the Arsens’ lifelong commitment to advancing our community through education.