By Nicole Hess, Contributing Writer
OSWEGO, NY – Nancy Bellow is the Executive Director of the President’s Office of Business and Community Relations at SUNY Oswego, up until Oct. 1.
After 15 years at the university, Nancy is ready to retire and has a lot of accomplishments under her belt as well as a lot to look forward to.
“Our office is part of the president’s office. We are all about relationships between college and community,†she explained.
Nancy has worked closely with the small business development center, which has two business advisors that diligently assist Oswego residents interested in starting their own business plan.
These advisors are available to help with business plans and any other questions a future small business owner might have.
“Also, part of the office we have the workforce development board that oversees training people in Oswego County and helps businesses in the county access training services, if they want to upgrade the skills of employees or train new employees,†she said.
As if Nancy wasn’t busy enough she also guest lectures in a variety of classes on campus in communications and the school of business.
Something people may find interesting is the fact that Nancy didn’t start college with the intentions of becoming a whiz in business.
“I have minors in biology and chemistry because when I started college I wanted to become a biologist,†she said.
She changed her mind however because, “In the 1970s, career counseling wasn’t what it is today. I didn’t want to be a teacher or work in a laboratory.â€
So, she changed to a major in economics.
Nancy says her biggest accomplishment at the university is the “increased collaboration between college and community in a variety of ways. The town-gown relationship is better than it once was.â€
She also mentioned how many of the businesses in downtown Oswego can owe their filled storefronts to help from her staff.
The rivers end bookstore and Aunt Mary’s Cafe & Catering are just several downtown businesses that have been helped by Nancy’s staff.
After retirement, Nancy is looking forward to doing some traveling in the United States.
She’s also excited about being able to fit in daytime workouts at the gym – rather than squeezing them in before or after her long work day.
Besides hitting the gym and seeing the Grand Canyon, Nancy is going to continue her work with the city of Oswego to revive its 2020 vision plan and her position as the chair on the Operation Oswego County board of directors.
As far as the college goes, she is going to continue to participate in planning for the sesquicentennial in 2011.
Currently, she’s helping create a documentary on the college’s history and planning a convocation to celebrate the birthday of the founder of the college Edward Austin Sheldon in October of 2011.
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