Syracuse University Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor was honored on
Tuesday, March 3, by the National Council for Research on Women (NCRW) as one
of five recipients of the Making a Difference for Women Award. The award is
presented annually to individuals or organizations that have made a difference in the
lives of women and girls through extraordinary achievement and through
courageously challenging the status quo.
The other awardees were Sharon Allen, chairman of the board at Deloitte LLP;
Sunita Holzer, executive vice president and worldwide human resources officer at
Chubb & Son; Angelique Kidjo, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter; and
Sharon Taylor, senior vice president of human resources at Prudential Financial.
Linda Basch, president of the NCRW, said in her opening remarks: "We are
honoring these extraordinary women for their leadership and the pathways they are
creating to ensure that other women have the opportunity to achieve their full
potential."
The awards dinner, emceed by CNN Correspondent Alina Cho and attended by
more than 400 influential leaders in education, business, philanthropy and media,
was held at Cipriani Wall Street in Manhattan.
Martin Bandier, chairman and CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, introduced
Cantor as "a university president who always puts the needs of her students before
her own, a distinguished scholar whose work on behalf of women and minorities
continues to challenge and influence national discussions on gender and racial
equality, and a trailblazing woman whose life's work has always been about 'making
a difference.'"
"I am honored to receive this award with four extraordinary honorees-women who
really are making a difference in the world," said Cantor in accepting her award.
"And I am especially delighted to have been introduced by Marty Bandier, a
longtime champion for women in the music industry. When I think about making a
difference, I think about leveling the playing field of educational opportunity,
because the gaps we see around us are not about the ability to achieve, they are about
the opportunity to achieve."
Last year, Cantor was one of two recipients of the Carnegie Corporation Academic
Leadership Award for her "uncompromising commitment to academic excellence
and bold visionary leadership," and previously received the Woman of Achievement
Award from the Anti-Defamation League.
