Bennett awarded Business Person of the Year

If you check your e-mail this week you will notice a lot of administrative e-mails, many authored by Tracy Bennett, Fredonia's vice president for administration.

With Earth Week approaching, Bennett's role as the Sustainability Committee chair means he has a lot of information to distribute to the students. The Business Club is celebrating this dedication to the campus and community by naming Bennett as their Business Person of the Year as his thirtieth year of employment at SUNY Fredonia comes to a close.

"The business club looks for someone who is a very involved and successful business person," said Kyle Georger, special events coordinator for the Business Club. "I don't think there is anyone better for this award." Georger said the recipient must show success in the business world as well as adherence to ethics in business.

The club assembles a panel and asks local businesses who they think fits the criteria.
Bennett received his award last Thursday, April 15 in the Williams Center Multi-purpose Room.

"We see ourselves [SUNY Fredonia] as a major part of the community," Bennett said. "We always keep in mind how decisions made on campus will effect the community." In 2009, Bennett introduced the idea of FRED Funds which allows students to make purchases from local businesses using their campus FRED card.

"This is another way to get the students to go outside of the campus," Georger said at the presentation.

Having to oversee 360 employees spread across nine departments with sundry subgroups, Bennett balances the diverse aspirations of many groups while implementing realistic and attainable solutions.

"Individuals often go right to the end game," Bennett said. "I have to see what we can do to take the next step to getting this done." Bennett compared his job to that of a bicyclist, distilling the daunting task of an uphill race into smaller steps – from one telephone pole to the next.

On the Sustainability Committee Bennett oversees a group of students in green-conscious projects around the community. One such project, scheduled to be built this summer, is the construction of an on-campus windmill. The windmill will provide power to all outdoor lighting on campus. By achieving this first step, Bennett leading the way to a self-sufficient school.

In addition to his roles on campus, he is a businessman at heart. While he is not at work at Fredonia, he operates his own tax accounting business. "It offers me a lot of fulfillment, being able to work with the people directly and seeing more short term successes", he said. "My role on campus is often that of the long term."