Nancy Cantor was officially sworn into office on Friday, three months after beginning her efforts as Syracuse University’s 11th Chancellor.

Amid a mass of deans and professors dressed in formal graduation garb on the Carrier Dome turf and a crowd of students, faculty and city residents dressed in street clothes in the Dome’s stadium seating, Cantor formally addressed the university for the first time in her career. She promoted the need for the university and its surrounding community to convene and work more closely together with one another.

‘We’re ready to cross these boundaries – some of our own making, some made for us,’ Cantor said. ‘The excellence of this institution can only be fully realized if we open ourselves up to those in the outer world.’

Cantor said she hoped to break down the concept of the university being ‘on the Hill,’ and not a part of the city. Specifically, Cantor mentioned the need for the university and the city to grow together in the downtown area by overlooking the Interstate 81 overpass as a figurative border between these two entities.

‘New things are possible here,’ Cantor said. ‘All we have to do is begin.’

Cantor’s speech was relatively short, lasting no more than 10 minutes.

‘She wasn’t too longwinded,’ said John Gregory, a sophomore aerospace engineering major who watched the inauguration from the stands. ‘She got to the point as quickly as she could: a lot of the students here don’t get involved in the community, the city.’

Larry Martin, the university’s assistant vice president for program development, also watched from the stands, intrigued by what Cantor said. Martin, who already worked with Cantor earlier this year, was impressed with her plans.

‘It’s an exciting vision for the future,’ Martin said. ‘She’s reaching out to the community. We’re a university and that includes everybody. We’re going to move forward together.’

Cantor made sure to practice the proposed community inclusion that she preached, as a chief from the Oneida Nation was included among the distinguished faculty members who welcomed her before her speech.

Such inclusions, Cantor hopes, will help the university and the city formulate a more symbiotic relationship. While it’s a difficult task, Cantor said, she believes such improvement is possible – with proper communication.

‘May we find our big soul together in the years ahead,’ Cantor said.

After a standing ovation from the crowd, Cantor’s point was emphasized by a procession of students, professors, graduates, members of the Onondaga Nation, a teaching assistant, a single mother, basketball team captain and starting center Craig Forth and Student Association Vice President Travis Mason, who all uttered the same phrase into a microphone after offering a few biographical tidbits.

‘I am a part of the soul of Syracuse,’ each said upon ending.

Mason, the final speaker in the procession, opened his arms and addressed the crowd in the stadium, tacking on another phrase to his biographical information to complete the message: ‘We are the soul of Syracuse.’

Published on November 7, 2004 at 12:00 pm