Regents' Resolution

The Regents of the University of Michigan salute and express their gratitude to Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Nancy Cantor as she leaves the University on July 20, 2001, to become chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Chainpaign.

Appointed in 1997, Provost Cantor is the first woman at the University of Michigan to serve as chief academic officer. Her leadership has been characterized by great energy, compassion, and a commitment to the highest academic values. She has provided the resources and intellectual framework for important initiatives in undergraduate education and interdisciplinary scholarship and research, while promoting diversity, gender equity, and a family-friendly environment for faculty, students, and staff. Provost Cantor has championed Michigan's libraries, museums, and natural areas - the rich resources she calls public goods - and has expanded international opportunities for students and faculty.

Provost Cantor, professor of psychology, senior research scientist, and former dean of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, is widely known for her outstanding work as a social psychologist both at the University of Michigan and at Princeton University, where she previously taught and served as chair of the psychology department. She has been a superb spokesperson on behalf of higher education, leading national policy discussions on such important topics as affirmative action, gender equity, and graduate education. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vice chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Higher Education, and a member of many boards and professional associations.

With deep admiration and appreciation, the Regents congratulate and extend best wishes to Provost Nancy Cantor as she leaves to become chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A standing ovation followed.

Provost Cantor thanked the Regents and observed, "this place is and will always be for me the greatest university there can be." She noted that "there's nothing like the intellectual grandeur and scale, collaboration, intensity, energy, and honesty" found at Michigan. She recognized the extraordinary efforts of the provost's office staff throughout her tenure.