Melissa Bailey Photo
Standing a few feet away from the man who forced her resignation, outgoing Southern Connecticut State University President Cheryl Norton quietly shed tears on stage at her final commencement Friday.
Norton (at left in photo), who’s leaving under a negotiated separation agreement, said goodbye to her sixth and final graduating class at the Connecticut Tennis Center in Westville Friday morning.
She sat, robed and medallioned, in close proximity to Connecticut State University (CSU) system Chancellor David G. Carter (at far right in photo above), the man who has been catching heat for forcing her out. Carter was grilled this week by lawmakers over how he handled Norton’s dismissal. He met sharp criticism over his decision to quietly fire her without letting the CSU board know. SCSU teachers issued a vote of no confidence in Carter this week; one top legislator called for his resignation.
As he sat on a stage on the tennis court Friday, Carter looked solemn and uncomfortable. He refrained from joining his robed colleagues in many rounds of applause. When a news camera pointed toward him, he shot back a wary glance (pictured).
Neither Carter nor Norton mentioned the awkward situation, nor her pending departure, on stage Friday.
Norton beamed as she shook graduates’ hands, then shed a few tears as the ceremony wrapped up with a student soloist singing the school’s anthem.
Norton wiped away tears as she hugged supporters after the event. As the crowd filed out of the stadium, Norton told the Independent how she felt.
“Obviously, it’s my last commencement at Southern,” she said. She called the moment “bittersweet”: “You’re so excited for all the students, but also sad that you’re not going to be part of this environment in the future. Southern has been such a wonderful experience for me and I have been privileged to be its president.”
Asked if she had any hard feelings over the terms of her departure, Norton hit an upbeat note.
“I’m excited about exploring new opportunities,” she said. “I think it’s always important to try to reinvigorate your life with a sense of new challenges. There’s always that mixture of excitement and sadness when you’re leaving close friends.”
Norton was asked what was going through her mind when she shed tears as the ceremony ended.
“This is the last time that you’ll do this,” she replied. “It’s just sad. You always have a little bit of a regret for what you feel you have lost, even though you’re looking forward to where you’re going.”
