Jacksonville University President Tim Cost is leaving his position but will remain with JU, becoming chancellor in summer 2026.
In his new role, he said he will focus on running different areas of the private institution than he did during his years as president and his two years on the board of trustees before that.
“I am not riding off into the sunset,” Cost said in an Oct. 20 interview.
He said the chancellor serves at the pleasure of the chair of the board of trustees. “I will be available to help as needed,” Cost said.
In an Oct. 21 news release, the university said it plans to search for Cost’s successor as president under the direction of JU’s board of trustees. Details about the succession plan and presidential search will be forthcoming, the release stated.
“President Cost’s exemplary leadership over the past 14 years has transformed our University in remarkable ways,” said JU board Chair John Miller in the release.
“Under his guidance, we’ve enjoyed growth in undergraduate and graduate enrollment, developed countless strategic partnerships in and outside of our community, and elevated our profile both in the region and beyond. The Board is grateful for his extraordinary commitment as President and his dedication to students, and we are confident he will help further advance our mission and expand our impact as Chancellor.”
Cost said when he becomes chancellor, he will leave behind the day-to-day operations of the university, such as finance and resource allocation.
“I will be focused on alumni relations, fundraising, government affairs and everything that has to do with potential partnerships,” Cost said.
His new role will give him more time to spend with students and to travel with his wife, Stephanie.
“I’ll be 67 next year and I’m about to become a grandfather again,” Cost said.
JU under Cost’s leadership
A 1981 magna cum laude graduate of Jacksonville University, and the first alumnus to serve as president in the university’s 92-year history, Cost was selected in October 2012 and began his tenure as JU’s 12th president in February 2013.
Since then, the university has achieved its highest U.S. News & World Report rankings and its first inclusion in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Forbes Top 500 U.S. Universities.
Cost directed the two largest fundraising campaigns in school history and led the “Renew Arlington” effort of community investment and economic development.
During Cost’s tenure, JU expanded from three colleges, five schools and two institutes to five colleges, nine schools and three institutes, and established partnerships with companies, health care providers and community organizations.
The many firsts under Cost include the launch of the STEAM Institute and the introduction of major fields of study, including speech language pathology, clinical mental health counseling, occupational therapy, accelerated nursing, business analytics, engineering, law, data science, AI, cybersecurity and robotics.
Since 2013, the university opened the Keigwin School of Nursing, the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, the Linda Berry Stein College of Arts and Sciences, the Frisch Welcome Center, the Haskell Public Policy Institute and the Rock Lacrosse Center.
JU opened its Weatherford, Martire and Wodehouse residence halls, the River House residential property, the North Hall honors living/learning community, and its on-campus Chick-fil-A and Starbucks venues, all since 2015.
Its Health Sciences Complex and Medical Mall and its roundabout campus entryway were brought online since 2022.
In 2022, the university opened its College of Law in Downtown Jacksonville and graduated its first class this past spring, which achieved the second-highest Florida Bar Examination passage rate in the state at 91.7%.
Cost also led the partnership with Lake Erie College of Medicine to form LECOM at Jacksonville University, the region’s first four-year medical school, which is on schedule to open in Arlington in fall 2026.
In 2024, the university announced the establishment of the Cost Honors College, now with 450 undergraduates, made possible through a philanthropic investment from Tim and Stephanie Cost totaling more than $10 million.
Cost faced criticism from faculty and students in April, when JU announced it was eliminating about 30 courses of study and laying off 40 faculty members in an effort to save $10 million.
Courses eliminated included all its fine arts majors, including music and theater programs.
“The university of the 2030s will be different than the university of the 1990s. We are going to focus more on business and health care instead of world languages, for example,” Cost said.
Career of commitment
A former student-athlete and four-year letterman on JU’s baseball team, Cost returned to his alma mater after a 32-year global business career as a senior executive at PepsiCo, Kodak, Bristol Myers Squibb, Aramark and other companies. He was named the University’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2006.
Cost is a member of the First Coast Business Hall of Fame and the JU Athletics Hall of Fame. He has been named among Florida’s Top 500 business leaders by Florida Trend magazine for the past eight years and has been chosen Downtowner of the Year by Downtown Vision Inc. and Guardian of the Arts with his wife by the Cathedral Arts Project.
He serves on regional business and civic/community boards, including GuideWell/Florida Blue, the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust, Brooks Rehabilitation, the Jacksonville Civic Council and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Cost is a member of the World Affairs Council, Florida Council of 100 and Florida Chamber of Commerce, and previously served on the boards of directors of the NCAA, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Jacksonville Symphony, WJCT Public Media, JAXUSA Partnership, The Players Council, Web.com and Stein Mart.