Rutgers-Newark’s Chancellor Nancy Cantor Honored for Her Significant Contributions to American Higher Education

Nancy Cantor, chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark, recently received the 10th Annual Ernest L. Boyer Award in a ceremony at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Ernest Boyer served in nationally prominent leadership roles including U.S. Commissioner of Education under President Jimmy Carter, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Chancellor of the State University of New York.

The award is bestowed by New American Colleges and Universities upon individuals “who are making significant contributions to American higher education.” Dr. Cantor was cited for being “globally recognized as an advocate for higher education, a catalyst for social mobility, and leader for universities serving as a public good in their communities.”

Sean Creighton, president of  New American Colleges and Universities said of Dr. Cantor, “She has advanced higher education and social justice and, ultimately, risen to Boyer’s challenge for colleges and universities to improve the human condition” and has been “an influencer and a mentor to numerous faculty and leaders who have gone on to reflect her tireless commitment to civic engagement.”

Dr. Cantor became chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark in 2014. Earlier, she had served as chancellor of Syracuse University for a decade. Prior to her appointment at Syracuse, Dr. Cantor served as chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan. Previously, she had been chair of the department of psychology at Princeton University.

Dr. Cantor is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, She holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University.