Nancy Cantor to take position at Rutgers-Newark

Chancellor will leave SU by January to lead the Newark campus of Rutgers University

Nancy Cantor will be heading to Rutgers-Newark, ending her tenure as Syracuse University chancellor and president months earlier than expected.


SU and Cantor are working on how to transition her responsibilities so that she can start at the northern New Jersey campus of the state's main university as of January 2014, according to a university announcement.. Cantor announced her retirement from SU in October, marking June 2014 as her departure date from a school she will have served nearly a decade.

"It has been tremendously rewarding to think, learn and problem-solve with the Syracuse community—all of which I will draw upon as I prepare to take this next step,” Cantor said in a statement.

Cantor had previously said she had no interest in pursuing another university leadership role, but changed her mind after Rutgers offered her the $385,000-a-year position as chancellor, the Newark Star-Ledger first reported Thursday morning. This is a significantly lower salary than what she earned at the helm of SU: Cantor made $648,146 in 2011, according to Syracuse.com.

“The Rutgers-Newark campus and community are gaining one of the nation’s outstanding academic leaders and the Rutgers board is gaining a deeply thoughtful, energetic and committed partner,” SU Board of Trustees Chairman Richard L. Thompson said in a statement. “Nancy has been a superlative leader, seeing our university to wonderful success and helping us to build on our distinctive greatness and achieve new heights."

Cantor will be remembered for spearheading a $1 billion fundraising effort on behalf of the university. Under her leadership, enrollment grew by nine percent, more than 21,000 students, Syracuse.com reported.

Cantor also oversaw the building of the numerous multimillion dollar facilities on campus, including Ernie Davis residence and dining hall, the Whitman School of Management, the Life Sciences Complex and a new law school building, which is soon to be completed.

"Through these efforts, and her thoughtfully planned transition, she has positioned SU to attract a new leader of the highest caliber,” Thompson said in a statement.

Kevin Quinn, SU senior vice president of public affairs, told Syracuse.com that the search for SU's new chancellor is on schedule and that candidates will be interviewed by a committee this summer. A new chancellor will likely be selected this winter.

Cantor will be heading to a campus known for its diversity: Rutgers' Newark campus, located in a more urban setting than SU, is known for being racially diverse, and Cantor described this as being in her "wheelhouse," telling the Star-Ledger this is what drew her to the position. As chancellor, she will oversee a campus of about 12,000 students.

Cantor's appointment was announced today at the Rutgers Board of Governors meeting.

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