JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Tim Cost loves Jacksonville University. A 1981 magna cum laude graduate, he was the first alumnus to serve as president of the university in its storied 91-year history.
He was elected to the role in October 2012 and began his tenure as JU’s 12th president in February 2013.
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That tenure will come to an end next year.
But Cost’s time with the university is far from over.
He will be stepping into the role of Chancellor in the summer of 2026.
In his new role, a planned transition agreed to with the JU Board of Trustees in 2022, Cost will actively focus externally on partnerships, fundraising, alumni, community and government relations.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as President,” Cost said in a news release. “This is a unique, thriving campus with vibrant students and faculty, and we are proud to have been of service to this great community. The senior executive talent here is deep and ready, and the time is right to transition to Chancellor.”
Since Cost took the reins as president in 2013, the university has experienced continued momentum, achieving its highest U.S. News & World Report rankings and its first-ever inclusion in the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 Forbes Top 500 U.S. universities.
Cost also directed the two largest and most successful fundraising campaigns in school history and spearheaded the “Renew Arlington” effort of community investment and economic development.
During Cost’s tenure as president, the university expanded from three colleges, five schools and two institutes to five colleges, nine schools and three institutes.
Cost has been inducted into the First Coast Business Hall of Fame and the JU Athletics Hall of Fame. The former student-athlete was a four-year letterman on JU’s baseball team.
Cost returned to his alma mater after a successful 32-year global business career as a senior executive at PepsiCo, Kodak, Bristol-Myers Squibb, ARAMARK, Pharmacia, Centocor/Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth/Pfizer, and APCO Worldwide. He was named the University’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2006.