At NJIT, TV Trailblazer Tells Women to Assert Themselves and 'Be the Change'

Dolores Morris’ road to a career in television production was circuitous but ultimately fruitful and rewarding — from Children’s Television Workshop to ABC to Disney to HBO. It didn’t come easily, however.

Morris, speaking at New Jersey Institute of Technology on International Women’s Day, explained that at times she was among few women in the room and the only person of color. Still, she found the strength to assert herself, perhaps remembering the words of her father: “You can be whatever you want to be.”

Her sense of humor also leavened any tension, particularly during those 8 a.m. Monday production meetings at Disney, where she was a vice president working on Sunday movies and television animation.

Reading the room 

When then Disney CEO Michael Eisner asked in her first meeting, “So, what have you got for us?,” she began by saying that she was pleased to work at a company with a black president — a wry reference to Mickey Mouse. For a moment, the boss cut her some slack.

“I had to assert myself in any way I could,” Morris told a room of NJIT students, faculty, staff and administrators, including the event’s host, Nancy Steffen-Fluhr, director of NJIT’s Murray Center for Women in Technology. “To me, it’s a sense of humor and sort of reading the room. I think that’s what a lot of us forget: you have to read the room and see what they are willing to accept.”

Morris earned a bachelor’s in physical anthropology and taught at secondary schools before entering TV via the Children’s Television Workshop, where she developed a show that encouraged girls and boys to take up science (“3-2-1 Contact”). That job primed her for the chance to produce after-school specials for children at the ABC network, which in turn, opened the door to Disney. Later, she helped launch HBO Family, where she earned five Emmy awards for Outstanding Children’s Program. Morris was the supervising producer on each program.

Embrace change

The successful producer’s life story resonated with the attendees, who, during a question-and-answer period, openly shared feelings of self-doubt and being misunderstood. In return, Morris urged them to believe in themselves, take credit for wins and “be the change.”

“Don’t limit yourself,” Morris told one woman, who asked for advice for being at a crossroads. “A whole other thing might present itself to you. Don’t give up.”

Coming from a TV trailblazer, those empathetic words of encouragement certainly meant a lot.

Women’s History Month continues

Morris’ talk is but one example of how NJIT is celebrating Women’s History Month. Here’s what else is coming up.

Reflections on Becoming Her
International Girls Academy, Graduates for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, Graduate Society of Women Engineers
March 18, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Campus Center Atrium

Broadening the Computer Science Community
Math for America President Maria Klawe
March 20, 2:30 - 4 p.m., Eberhardt 112

Women’s Appreciation
Alumna and entrepreneur Angelica Ogando
March 21, 7 - 10 p.m., Campus Center Atrium

Women Designing the Future
Intelligent Uses of Artificial Intelligence: Making Technology Work for All of Us
Annual conference of the Murray Center for Women in Technology
March 22, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., Campus Center Atrium