The Louis J. Cantori Club Sports Award is presented annually to a Club Sports student-athlete who participates in club sports and is an outstanding scholar-athlete. This student may not be the leading scorer on the team, but shows the most spirit and passion for their craft. They are the unsung heroes, the ones who will do anything for their teammates and who exhibit leadership qualities on the field and in the classroom.
Louis J. Cantori
Lou joined UMBC’s Department of Political Science in 1972 and served as Chair from 1979 to 1985. He was an internationally recognized expert on Middle East politics and policy, and over the course of his career, he lived in the region for a cumulative total of seven years. Lou was the author, co-author, or editor of four books and over 40 articles on the Middle East and other subjects. His Op-Eds and commentary appeared on NPR, C-SPAN, and Salon.com, and in USA Today, The Baltimore Sun, and other media outlets.
Lou was a Sergeant of the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951-55, an affiliation in which he took great pride. He was a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer on the Middle East at the U.S. State Department and Adjunct Professor at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Lou also taught at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Marine Corps University. He founded or was heavily involved with various Middle East policy groups, including The American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies and The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.
Lou received his Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago, and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He studied Islamic philosophy at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
Lou received UMBC’s annual teaching award in political science for the academic years 1979-80 and 1981-82. He spearheaded some of the department’s most successful initiatives. Under his chairmanship, UMBC became part of a select number of colleges and universities that annually send delegates to the annual Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA) at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Lou also conducted the Department’s first study-abroad course, to Egypt in 1984.
He also served as faculty advisor to the UMBC Crew team with gusto. He thought these scholar-athletes epitomized the exceptionalism of UMBC. After his retirement in 2005, in addition to his ongoing service to the UMBC Crew team, Lou continued to write and present papers internationally.
Lou and Joan were married for 54 years. They have two sons Greg and Eric, a daughter, Nadia, and numerous grandchildren. The Cantori family tree includes seven UMBC alumni:
Son, Greg Cantori ’83, geography.
Son, Eric Cantori ’86, computer science, his wife Laura ’83, modern languages and linguistics, and daughter, Miranda ’14, political science.
Daughter, Nadia Cantori Ward is married to Dr. Francisco Ward ’87, psychology. Their daughters, Leila ’13, environmental studies, and Maxi ’20, English. Leila was a member of the rec crew team during her time at UMBC. The entire family loves soccer.
Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Lou passed away on Monday, May 12, 2008. Provost Arthur T. Johnson said, “Lou will be remembered fondly for his gregariousness and kindness; his love of scholarly discussion and debate and his contributions to the field of comparative politics; and for his support of UMBC and its students, especially members of the UMBC crew.”