Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway plans to replace the longtime head of the Newark campus once her contract expires next June, he announced in an email to staff on Wednesday.
Chancellor Nancy Cantor has led Rutgers-Newark since 2013 and news of her departure was quickly met with dismay by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, state legislative officials and other city leaders, including the CEO of the NJ Performing Arts Center.
“To discard Chancellor Cantor is taking two steps backwards,” Baraka wrote in a letter to Holloway co-signed by 13 other civic leaders. “It disrupts a long and hard-fought progress that Newark is journeying on. It flies in the face of the collective work that we have been doing many times with Chancellor Cantor’s insistence, her commitment, and sheer will. Therefore, I, along with the following group of leaders dedicated to improving our city, implore the University to reconsider its decision to replace Chancellor Cantor. It would be a grave error.”
Dory Devlin, a spokeswoman for the university, wouldn’t confirm whether Cantor was non-renewed or why she was leaving once her contract expired June 2024. Cantor’s office didn’t return a request for comment.
The news of Cantor’s departure surprised faculty and city leaders. Cantor is well liked among the teaching staff and her 10-year tenure on campus has been marked by her relentless advocacy for Newark.
“When Cantor came to Newark, she committed to that and has really followed through,” said Kyle Riismandel, director of the graduate program of American Studies. “Telling the stories of Newark, the history of Newark, helping the people of Newark represent themselves, was extremely important.”
Cantor has been a major cheerleader for the city, leveraging university resources to provide data-informed approaches to increasing safety in Newark, green-lighting research projects on Newark’s affordable housing crisis and launching Express Newark, an arts collaboration.
Baraka said…
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