Before taking over as president of Jacksonville University on Feb. 4, Tim Cost was executive vice president for global corporate affairs for PepsiCo, a food and beverage company with revenue of $60 billion and more than 300,000 employees worldwide.
Cost also has been a senior executive with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kodak, Aramark, Wyeth and Pharmacia.
Cost talked about his experience and his vision Monday with the Rotary Club of Jacksonville at the Omni Hotel.
Cost graduated from JU in 1979 and later earned an MBA from the William E. Simon School of Business at Rochester University.
A baseball player at JU, Cost holds the distinction of being the only student-athlete in school history to pitch a nine-inning no-hitter.
"Jacksonville University changed my life," Cost said. In addition to providing him with a liberal arts undergraduate degree, he also met his wife, Stephanie, while at JU.
"It has been 32 years since I left JU. I've muscled up my background in finance," he said.
Cost's remarks to the club reflected his experience in business management. He used terms including "product," "customers" and "branding."
He said he believes there is a "chasm between higher education and business in this community." One of his goals is to change that environment.
"Jacksonville University will be available in ways it has not been before," said Cost.
Many of his colleagues in business questioned his decision to leave the global corporate world to become the chief executive at a small, private liberal arts college, Cost said.
"I'm 53 years old. This sounds like something to do when you're ready to retire, but I felt so strongly about this university," he said.
"I'm a free-market capitalist and I believe in education," said Cost.
He said he views JU as a business and believes his role is to be accountable for that side of the university.
"The faculty has the responsibility for the curriculum. When it comes to running the business, that's where I come in," said Cost.
One of his goals is to diversify the courses offered beyond the liberal arts.
"My career didn't take off until I got a business education," Cost said.
Another goal is to offer more classes in a "hybrid" format combining traditional on-campus classes and remote online study, he said.
Changing the business community's perception of JU also is on Cost's agenda. He said the next six-12 months should be a "very exciting time" for the university.
"We will deliver the kind of product you need to build your business," Coast said.
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