Both the chairman of the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Nancy Cantor say the creation of the interim chancellor will allow for Cantor to help Chancellor-designate Kent Syverud transition into his role as Syracuse University’s next leader.

The university announced on Wednesday that Cantor will step away from overseeing daily operations to create a “smooth transition” for Syverud. The Board of Trustees Executive Committee on Thursday approved the appointment of Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina as interim chancellor. Spina’s appointment is effective Monday.

Syverud begins his tenure as chancellor on Jan. 13. He is currently the dean of the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis.

In October 2012, Cantor said she would leave SU when her contract expired in June 2014. During the summer, it was announced that Cantor would become chancellor of Rutgers-Newark on Jan. 1.

Cantor, Spina and Syverud discussed having an interim chancellor multiple times, Thompson said. The decision to have an interim chancellor was ultimately made, he said, because it will allow Cantor to work closely with Syverud.

“If I had thought for a moment this was going to injure the transition, I would have never supported it,” Thompson said. “They all thought it was a great idea because she needs to be thinking about: What are her priorities that she wants to communicate to the incoming chancellor? What does she want to do to help sustain her very positive contributions?”

Cantor will still remain in Syracuse, Thompson added, and will be available for students, trustees and anyone else in the SU community.

By stepping away from daily operations, Cantor will be able to work with Syverud on the transition. Having Syverud sit in an office, watching what Cantor does on a daily basis would not be “a productive use of time,” Thompson said.

“What she wants to convey, I think, is that her sense of the direction of the university was really working well, what the really high-quality achievements are that she’s had, and to make sure (Syverud) understands the basis of those policies,” Thompson said. “He’s going to make his own decisions on how he works day-to-day, where his priorities are and who he meets with, when he meets with them and how long he meets with them, but she really wants to focus on policy.”

Cantor said being able to step back and having Spina become interim chancellor will also allow her to tie up key initiatives.

“… making sure I have time to be with groups of faculty that I’ve worked with on projects; to make sure I have time for really buttoning up connections to key alums and fundraising things that are on the books; and then to really be at Kent’s disposal,” she added.

Cantor added that she and Syverud have been in regular contact, both in terms of phone calls and visits.

Published on October 14, 2013 at 12:42 am