The Warehouse will be renamed the “Nancy Cantor Warehouse” to honor the tenure of the outgoing chancellor.

Board of Trustees Chairman Richard Thompson announced the decision at a dinner honoring Cantor’s legacy in Goldstein Auditorium.

The decision to name The Warehouse after Cantor was made by the Board of Trustees about a month and a half ago, Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs said in an email.

The decision was based off Cantor’s vision to create a bond between the city of Syracuse and the university and to engage the community surrounding the school, Thompson said in an SU News Release.

“Nancy showed us how to rethink the boundaries of our campus, of scholarship and of education with a leap that took us across the City of Syracuse,” he said. “Where others saw an abandoned warehouse, she saw a launching pad. We can think of no better way to commemorate the signature accomplishments of SU under Nancy’s leadership than to formally connect her name to that striking structure.”

Since its construction in 2006, The Warehouse’s construction has led to more than $70 million in capital investments for downtown Syracuse, bringing architecture firms, office headquarters and two new hotels to the city. The Warehouse is where many students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts attend their programs.

Other efforts Cantor made to improve the link between downtown Syracuse and the university included developing the Connective Corridor, the South Side Initiative, the Near Westside Initiative and improving the Say Yes to Education program.

In October 2012, Cantor announced she would leave the university after her contract expires in June 2014. It was later announced that Cantor would leave six months earlier than expected to begin her position as president of Rutgers University’s Newark campus on Jan. 1, 2014.

In September, Kent Syverud was named the next chancellor of the university. Syverud, current dean of the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, will begin his tenure as chancellor on Jan. 13, 2014.

Published on November 8, 2013 at 9:56 am

Contact Alfred: alng@syr.edu

@alfredwkng