Nancy Cantor announced she will step down as Syracuse University chancellor when her contract ends in June 2014 in an email sent to all students Friday morning.

Despite her decision to leave when her contract is up, Cantor said in the email that her work at SU isn’t done.

“There is much work to be done in sustaining our forward momentum as a university engaged with the world—work for us to tackle together in the coming three semesters, and for our next leader thereafter,” Cantor said in the email.

In the email, Cantor spoke at length about the current status of higher education in today’s world. Despite society’s low opinion of higher education, SU is meeting the challenge, Cantor said.

She listed many of SU’s accomplishments, including helping students pay for college, partnering with community colleges, creating successful entrepreneurship programs, working to restore Onondaga Lake and the university’s continued partnership with the Syracuse community as examples of this.

“We have distinguished histories in this difficult work, and we know there is much more yet to be done going forward,” she said. “We don’t shy away from challenge at Syracuse.”

SU has also taken the lead in several areas with projects such as the Connective Corridor and the Cold Case Justice Initiative, a program which investigates crimes from the Civil Rights era, Cantor said. These innovations, could not be accomplished without SU’s “community of experts” or partnerships with other companies, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and IBM, she said.

Cantor also discussed the success of the Campaign for Syracuse University, which aimed to raise $1 billion by December 2013. The university reached its goal in September, three months ahead of schedule. Despite the success of this and other programs, Cantor said the university cannot “take our minds off our responsibilities in the near term.”

“It has been a true honor to join with this University community in so many geographies, on campus and beyond, to make a difference in the world,” she said. “I am savoring the opportunities that will surely continue in the remainder of my term as Chancellor.”

In a statement on Friday, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner said she was saddened to hear the news of Cantor’s plans to step down.

“The Chancellor is a visionary leader who has been a strong partner in the Syracuse community,” Miner said in the statement. “It was her ideas and her ability to execute that we were able to create the connective corridor, build the partnership of Say Yes to Education, and envision a new ‘town and gown’ relationship between the university and the City of Syracuse. I thank her for being a friend, a partner, and a leader and I wish her the best in her future endeavors.”

Representative Ann Marie Buerkle released a statement on Friday as well, and said Cantor’s departure from SU will not only be strongly felt at SU but through the community as well.

“She has succeeded in fostering strong ties between the school and this community to the benefit of both,” she said. “Chancellor Cantor made a truly positive impact on our community by carrying the school’s values off the hill and into the greater Syracuse area.”

Published on October 12, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Contact Jessica: jliannet@syr.edu | @JessicaIannetta