Although controversy has sometimes surrounded her tenure, Chancellor Nancy Cantor leaves behind an accomplished legacy, most notably initiatives that have improved the relationship between Syracuse University and the city of Syracuse.

In 2012, Cantor announced she would leave SU when her contract expired. The following year, she announced she would begin as chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark in January 2014. In September, Kent Syverud was selected to fill Cantor’s role.

From the start of her tenure in 2004, Cantor began working on a long list of goals she wanted to achieve during her time as chancellor, the biggest one being Scholarship in Action. Within this campaign, Cantor accomplished several initiatives she created for the city, though sometimes at the cost of the university.

Cantor has allowed this relationship to flourish through a project called the Connective Corridor. The corridor links students to the city through gentrified walkways and transportation. Under Cantor, The Warehouse in Armory Square was also converted from a furniture store for academic purposes. It has since been renamed after the chancellor.

Cantor also demonstrated how a university can affect a city’s educational system. Cantor made Say Yes to Education, a nonprofit organization committed to increasing high school and college graduation rates for inner-city youths, a priority within SU. The program has since gained national recognition, specifically from President Barack Obama last August.

This inclusive outlook is reflected in Cantor’s recruitment strategy to alter SU’s demographics and welcome lower-income, minority applicants. Cantor expanded recruitment for the university from primarily the Northeast to both the South and West. Under her tenure, the number of American minority students increased from 17 percent at the start of her tenure to 31 percent in fall 2012.

But with this, the enrollment of the university has increased — by nearly 20 percent since the start of Cantor’s tenure — thus bringing into question the value of an SU degree. The increase has led to overcrowded residence halls and larger class settings, which hinder individual student attention and therefore a student’s overall education.

Under Cantor, the university has slipped in national rankings. According to U.S. News and World Report, Syracuse fell from a high of No. 40 among national universities in the 1990s to No. 62 in fall 2011. The university also earned a place on the magazine’s list, “A-plus options for B students.” These negative rankings call into question the university’s level of academics.

Cantor’s legacy is well endowed with pitfalls and highlights — Cantor should have placed greater emphasis on the academic prestige of the school, in addition to her work with the city — but SU students should appreciate her role in diversifying the university and promoting its connection to the city.

Now it is up to Chancellor-designate Syverud, who has stressed the importance of rankings and students, to fill in the missing components in Cantor’s chancellorship.

In the end, Nancy Cantor leaves behind a vision accomplished.

Published on December 4, 2013 at 2:38 am

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