Cantor in running for UW post

By Jen Fish

Daily Staff Reporter

University Provost Nancy Cantor has been named as one of three finalists for the position of chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Cantor called her status as a finalist for the position "a great opportunity," but quickly added that "I love Michigan and I love my job."

Cantor also said she did not apply for the position at Wisconsin. Her name was given to the search committee by another person.

Wisconsin Prof. Bernice Durand, who chairs the search committee, said the name of the person who nominated Cantor will remain confidential.

The other two finalists are Susan Prager, provost and chief academic officer at Dartmouth College and John Wiley, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Wisconsin.

Wisconsin's search for a new chancellor began last March when David Ward announced he would step down from the position. Ward has been chancellor since 1993.

Cantor's name was picked from a pool of 43 applicants from across the nation.

"All three candidates are all exceptionally accomplished, talented and very highly respected," Durand said. Durand added that the committee was impressed with the breadth of Cantor's experience in the academic and administrative arenas.

"Provost Cantor is an intellectual leader as well as an organizational leader," Durand said.

Cantor will travel to Wisconsin this week to meet with students, faculty and staff at the school.

Her interview will be either Nov. 2 or 3 with Wisconsin System President Jay Smith and members of the system's board of regents. They are expected to have a decision made in the next two weeks, and whoever accepts the position is expected to assume their new duties by January 1, 2001.

Cantor said she "has not even had time to think about" what she would do if offered the position and reiterated her devotion to Michigan.

"I'm very committed to my job here," she said.

The position of chancellor is roughly equivalent to that of the president at the University of Michigan, Durand said. Wisconsin's Madison campus has an enrollment of about 40,100 students. It has a faculty of about 2,135 and an annual operating budget of $1.4 billion, with $514.5 million coming from funding for research and development and $236.4 million from annual gifts and trust fund revenue.

Cantor began her career at the University in 1989 as associate dean for faculty programs at the Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies. She left the position in 1991 to join the faculty of Princeton University, where she served as chair of the psychology department from 1992 until her return to Michigan in 1996. Prior to her appointment as provost in 1997, Cantor was dean of Rackham and vice provost for academic affairs.

Cantor