UPDATED: June 20, 2013 at 2:01 p.m.

Nancy Cantor will become the chancellor of Rutgers University’s Newark campus, effective Jan. 1.

This news comes after Cantor said last October that she would step down as Syracuse University’s chancellor at the end of the spring 2014 semester. Cantor and Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Thompson are working on a transition plan to adjust for her early departure. Further details will be revealed soon, according to an SU News release.

“As an educational leader, I have devoted my advocacy to making more real the promise of higher education as the road to social mobility, a context for democratic practice and a participant in community building and public problem-solving,” Cantor said in a Rutgers press release. “Rutgers-Newark is a place where all of these impulses come together in a remarkable way.”

Rutgers President Robert Barchi announced the decision at a 1 p.m. board meeting. In the official release, Barchi expressed excitement about Cantor’s hire, noting her internationally recognized work in social environments, as well as her leadership roles at other top universities.

“She has always pursued excellence in higher education and shown a strong commitment to issues of accessibility and community engagement,” Barchi said in the release. “She is the ideal fit to be our Newark chancellor and we look forward to her arrival on campus.”

Cantor’s role will include managing one of the university’s three campuses and reporting to Barchi, according to an article by The Star-Ledger.

In the article, Cantor said she was not actively looking for another leadership job, but was approached to take the $385,000 job — a cut from her current salary of about $615,000. She said she was attracted to Rutgers’ racially diverse and urban campus, according to The Star-Ledger.

Richard Thompson, chairman of the SU Board of Trustees, said in a statement that Rutgers was gaining an outstanding academic leader, as well as an energetic and committed partner.

“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,” he said. Thompson cited her work with the $1 billion campaign, a larger and more diverse applicant group and the construction of several facilities as some of her achievements while at SU.

Cantor was selected by a search committee headed by Rutgers-Camden chancellor Wendell Pritchett, according to the release. He said in the release that the group was looking for someone to expand the Newark campus regarding teaching, research and service.

Pritchett said he is confident Cantor will work well with the faculty, staff, students and alumni at Rutgers to guarantee the school’s advancement.

Published on June 20, 2013 at 2:43 pm

Contact Maddy: mjberner@syr.edu