Jeff Glor was on a pre-dentistry track until he took his first chemistry course at Syracuse University in 1993. He then dreamed of being a novelist, but his parents encouraged him to pursue a career that would pay the bills, and he transferred into the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Now a current anchor of CBS News’ ‘The Early Show,’ Glor returned to SU this weekend to serve as Orange Central co-chair.

He sat down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Sean O’Keefe, former NASA administrator and SU graduate of 1978. Glor asked O’Keefe why the United States should explore the space in the midst of the sinking American economy on Thursday evening at Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium.

‘In some of us, there’s a part of our DNA that wants to explore, that just wants to know,’ O’Keefe said. ‘Some of us have it in ourselves to want to do all we can and to actually go for it.’

O’Keefe’s inspirational commentary is also true for Glor. Glor graduated in 1997 with a dual degree in broadcast journalism and economics. He also received the Henry J. Wolff award.

As co-chair of Orange Central, Glor reached out to SU alumni and encouraged them to come back to SU to reconnect with campus and friends, said Cristina Swift, assistant director at the Office of Alumni Relations at SU.

Before working at CBS, Glor worked at several NBC affiliate stations, including Syracuse’s own WSTM-TV. While in Syracuse, he was named ‘Best Male News Anchor’ of Central New York and one of the 40 most promising professionals under age 40. Glor also won an Emmy award for his 2010 economics piece, ‘Paving the Way.’

‘Serendipitous exploration helped me find my niche,’ Glor said. ‘Doing a lot of things, constantly searching, reading, reacting and figuring out what works best for you.’

His wife, Nicole, an SU broadcast journalism graduate of 1999, accompanied Glor for Homecoming weekend this year.

Nicole Glor is the star of seven workout DVDs, a nationally known personal trainer through NikkiFitness.com and a regular fitness expert on Fox and Friends. She hosted a fitness class on Friday at Ernie Davis, showed off some of her ‘Booty Camp’ exercises and cooled down with a calming yoga session.

Lindsey LaDue, junior nutrition major, participated in the fitness class.

‘I really enjoyed her class,’ LaDue said. ‘I was impressed by how many different muscles we used in such a short amount of time.’

Nicole Glor also participated in supermodel and SU graduate of 1985 Emme’s panel discussion, ‘Dream Big: Let Go of Negative Self-Speak and Live the Life You Desire.’ The discussion highlighted topics regarding positive body image.

Nicole also embarked on serendipitous exploration at SU. She pledged Alpha Chi Omega, volunteered at the Vera House and made the cut for SU’s varsity cheerleading team.

‘Cheerleading was one of the greatest unexpected experiences I had,’ Nicole Glor said. ‘I learned a lot about representing an entity much bigger than myself. It was like PR boot camp for me.’

She is currently the senior vice president and director of national media relations for the New York division of Regan Communications.

After she served as news assignment editor for the NBC affiliate in Syracuse, she moved onto public relations. She also became news producer at the FOX TV affiliate in Syracuse. While working as a news producer, Eric Mower and Associates offered her a job. There, Nicole was nationally awarded for ‘Best Publicity Campaign of 2002’ by the League of American Communications Professionals.

In the midst of her fitness, television and public relations career, Nicole Glor still finds time to do what makes her happy.

‘Enjoy the now,’ she said. ‘It’s all about being happy for what you have and what’s around you.’

sostern@syr.edu

Published on November 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm