In Nancy Cantor’s spare moments – early in the morning or during a lunch break – she peruses the assortment of news she receives from Syracuse University.

But for Cantor, SU’s next chancellor, few of the headlines are unfamiliar.

As chancellor at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign for the past three years, Cantor has faced many of the same issues that pepper Syracuse’s agenda, including the upgrade of Public Safety officers to peace officers, the tuition hike to subsidize athletics, the expansion of the university and maintaining a steady flow of fundraising.

‘Obviously any experience you have helps you understand the situations and the issues that will arise,’ Cantor said. ‘I’m sure I’ll say this a lot, but what I need to do is get on the ground and understand the details.’

At UIUC, Cantor became familiar with many of the issues that the SU athletic department faces. UIUC competes in the Big Ten, another one of the country’s major conferences.

Cantor used the fiasco where University of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College left the Big East Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference to determine what route would be best for the Big 10 to take.

‘I haven’t read about the particulars at Syracuse,’ Cantor said. ‘There are always pressures on having an excellent athletic program and how to fund it. We all benefit from them, and we need to support our students in academics also. There are many programs who are finding it important to subsidize their athletic programs in some way.’

Despite budget cuts each year from 2001 until the present because of a decrease in state funding, UIUC has chosen to nibble away at academic and administrative budgets without greatly affecting the athletic budget. According to The Daily Illini, the student newspaper at UIUC, 465 faculty positions and 260 courses – mostly lower level – were eliminated this year.

Like SU, UIUC also approved a tuition increase. A number of advisory groups helped implement an 8 percent tuition increase for the upcoming year.

While Cantor observed the Big East-ACC controversy in an effort help her own conference, she will be a step ahead when discussions of peace officers come up. Cantor dealt with many Public Safety concerns at UIUC.

Equipping Public Safety officers with guns is a common practice, Cantor said.

Members of the UIUC Division of Public Safety have held peace officer status and carried guns since the department was created in the 1960’s, said O.J. Clark, chief of the UIUC Public Safety Division. Prior to that, armed police officers patrolled the campus.

‘By having me in her cabinet and having me answer directly to her, you can see the priority she puts on safety,’ Clark said. ‘The cooperation was there before she became chancellor, but Nancy encouraged it to continue.’

Budget and Public Safety issues may also affect the expansion of the university, another issue that Cantor said she hopes she will be able to better address using her experiences at UIUC.

Cantor has pressed further renovations to the top of the UIUC to-do list, but the budget concerns have delayed some efforts, she said.

‘Even with the budget issues, it seems like there’s always some sort of construction going on,’ Cantor said.

Cantor said she has stressed two projects during her three years, including the creation of the Thomas Siebel Center for Computer Science, which features computers that recognize students as they enter the doors and wireless computer technology, set to open in late May.

‘Expansion is important, but the building can’t be an end in itself,’ Cantor said. ‘Buildings are for programs and people. Some programs are constrained by the lack of technology available. Other programs need more space.’

With the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications set to add a third building and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs planning to expand, Cantor said that she hopes her experience dealing with expansions at UIUC proves useful.

The primary goals for new building are providing space for Newhouse’s extracurricular activities, student lounges, and labs with computers designed to help students prepare for the increasing importance of online media, said Susan Nash, the director of administration for Newhouse.

Although Cantor said that she does not have any specific plans regarding public safety, athletics, or campus expansion, she has formed a plan for obtaining more donations for the university.

When talking to potential donors, Cantor wants to speak specifically of SU’s assets and avoid figures and factoids, she said.

Overall, one goal remains clear in Cantor’s mind: forming a connection with the SU community.

‘You have to be willing to juggle a lot of things,’ Cantor said. ‘You can’t do that without being in touch. One of the things I’m going to do is find a way to meet students and attend lectures and sporting events.’

Published on February 24, 2004 at 12:00 pm