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Marcia Belmar Willock
’50 and a portrait
of her husband, the late Col. Roger Willock |
SUNY Oswego received the largest gift, exclusive of
bequests, in its 145-year history, when Marcia
Belmar Willock ’50 last month pledged $1
million to Inspiring Horizons:
The Campaign for Oswego to endow the Marcia Belmar
Willock ’50 Professor of Finance.
It will be Oswego’s first endowed professorship.
Revenue from the gift will be used to provide enhanced
funds for a faculty position in the accounting, finance
and law department of Oswego’s internationally
accredited School of Business.
“Marcia Willock’s gift will make a lasting
difference in the life of this institution,” said
President Deborah F. Stanley. “As a student, Marcia
was a leader on this campus. Now, her generosity will
help make the Oswego experience even better for generations
of our students. We are extremely grateful.”
Willock’s gift will enable the School of Business
to move the finance program forward to establish a stronger
presence in the areas of investment processes and banking,
according to Dean Lanny Karns.
The Marcia Belmar Willock Professor of Finance endowment
will allow the college to recruit, retain and sustain
exceptional faculty, who will engage in research and
entrepreneurial activities.
“Our students will have the opportunity to take
more specialized courses, which will allow them more
career opportunities in the financial service industry,
an important part of the New York state economy,”
said Richard Skolnik, chair of the accounting, finance
and law department.
“If Oswego had offered a course in banking or
money management, I probably would have worked my way
into it sooner or later, but it wasn’t there,”
Willock said.
Campaign co-chair Bernie Henderson called the gift “pace-setting,”
saying, “It proves the place Oswego holds in the
hearts of people who have experienced it — how
important Oswego is to them.”
Willock said she is happy to give back to her alma mater.
“Anyone who has spent four years at Oswego should
realize that they owe Oswego,” she said. “Without
the background that Oswego gives, you don’t have
a platform to dive off, as far as education goes.”
After graduating from Oswego, Willock taught school
on Long Island and then joined the Marine Corps, attaining
the rank of captain. She had been inspired by the World
War II veterans she knew on campus to do a study of
the difference between civilian and military education.
In the Marine Corps, she met and in 1952 married her
husband, Colonel Roger Willock, who passed away in 2004.
They have one daughter, Victoria.
As a young bride in an era when few women worked outside
the home, Marcia Willock looked for something to engage
her intellect. She found it in a women’s investment
club she started in Princeton, N.J. After helping dozens
of women make their fortunes in the stock market, Willock
is perpetuating that help through her gift to Oswego.
After 30 years, the group she started in Princeton is
still going strong and Willock remains a member.
When she moved to Maine, one of the first things she
did was to start a similar group, the Learning Investors
of Portland, and is still an active member.
An elementary education major at Oswego, Willock was
always looking for new challenges and remembers requesting
the formation of a modern dance class, which brought
renowned choreographer Martha Graham to campus in the
program’s second year. She also enjoyed participating
in theatre productions and working with wood in an industrial
arts course.
“Throughout her life, Marcia Willock has exercised
a lively intellect, enjoying a multiplicity of passions
and interests,” said Stanley. “Her motto
is ‘Learn by Doing,’ and her success and
vigor will continue to inspire Oswego students who learn
of her through this gift.” |
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