Here’s to Your Future

Transcript

Jacksonville University is always adapting and advancing to give students an exceptional education. That’s why it’s consistently ranked one of the best regional universities in the south by “U.S. News & World Report.” Earlier this week, I caught up with fellow alum and Jacksonville University President, Tim Cost, to talk about all the progress that’s taking place here at JU. Check it out. I just wanna first of all say it is an honor and a privilege to be back here at Jackson University.

– Welcome back.

– I love this university so much and what you have done to transform this place is remarkable. I wanna let the audience know. I mean, President Cost is a Jacksonville University alum, went on for 30 years to run some of the biggest Fortune 500 companies in the world, and brought all that experience back here 10 years ago, and you’ve transformed this place. I mean, congratulations, thank you as an alumni, and would you mind spending a little time just telling the audience a little bit of what you have done?

– Sure, sure, and it’s great to have everybody interested in Jacksonville University. Thanks for inviting us to participate. I mean, this place changed my life. I mean, I came here in the late ’70s, I think you came here way after I did, but this idea that you could come someplace and realize all your ambitions, and that everything about the campus, I came back 10 years ago, incredible faculty, great staff, beautiful weather, we teach interesting relevant stuff. If the student wants to take a big bite out of international travel or finance or the arts or whatever it is, we make it available to them, and the idea was, could you move the student’s ideas, the student’s input into the center of everything we did? And that’s what we’ve tried to do. And it’s turned out so far and it’s exciting to see somebody like you come back, who’s done so well, and they see such a difference. It’s gratifying.

– Well, it’s one of the best places to go to school, right here in Jacksonville, Florida. It’s an amazing, amazing town, but what you’ve done to this campus, how do you keep the JU culture that we both know so well and what does the future look like?

– Yeah. Future the university’s gonna look a lot like the future of everything that’s around today’s student. So the idea of they wanna be involved in eSports, so now we teach it. They wanted Starbucks and Chick-fil-A, now we have it. This building was a president’s home until recently, when we asked the students what they wanted. They wanted a place where they could eat outside and get a craft beer if they’re of age, hang out by the water and study, and that’s what we made it. What’s happening in the economy has changed. For instance, we’re talking about the whole collision now between business and healthcare and technology. We’re gonna respond to that and have it ready when today’s high school student comes to school here.

– Yeah, it’s so fantastic. It’s so fantastic. Well, listen, I want to drink to that.

– Cheers to you.

– All the success, it’s amazing what you’ve done and I can’t wait to watch the next 10 years unfold.

– Thanks for being back.

– Cheers.

– Cheers.

– Appreciate being back.

– Back at ya.

– President Cost is the best, such a phenomenal leader, but also so approachable. As we were walking around campus, he loves to stop and talk to students and see how they’re doing. Our university is definitely in good hands with this incredible leader. Thank you for taking the time with us, President Cost, we really appreciate it.