John Delaney became the University of North Florida’s fifth president in 2003 and today oversees the education of more than 16,000 students.
Before joining UNF, Delaney was the chief assistant state attorney under Ed Austin and the City’s general counsel and Austin’s chief of staff when he was mayor.
Delaney then served two terms as mayor of Jacksonville and initiated the Better Jacksonville Plan, a $2.2 billion community improvement project that provided better public facilities and infrastructure improvements.
UNF is experiencing the largest construction boom in its history, including the recent dedications of the $86 million Osprey Fountains residence hall, the $50 million Student Union and the $27 million College of Education and Human Services Building.
Delaney addressed the meeting of the Rotary Club of Jacksonville Monday at the Omni Downtown. He shared insights into the growth and future of UNF and an idea he said came to him after former Gov. Jeb Bush named him in October 2008 interim chancellor of the state university system.
Delaney said that was when the economy began to “crack” and when the state saw 25 percent of its revenue disappear.
“The state can’t say to kindergarteners, ‘we’re not going to teach you.’ The state can’t say to bond holders, ‘we’re not going to pay you.’ It was depressing to be in Tallahassee during that legislative session,” said Delaney.
Delaney said when he considered the question of what he would do to improve the economy and bring more jobs to Florida, he was inspired by something that happened more than 60 years ago – and the idea could be implemented on a national scale as well.
“In World War II, the government sold war bonds. It was a patriotic act to buy them,” Delaney said.
He suggested Monday that it might be time for a campaign to sell what he called “recession bonds” to raise money to invest in infrastructure improvements like roads, bridges and airports.
“There has never been a time when interest rates were lower and the cost of labor and materials were lower. It would put a ton of people to work,” he said.
“We could tie the bonds to the gross domestic product and pay them off when the economy rebounds.”
He also supports increased funding for higher education and looking at the 11 state universities in Florida as “economic incubators.”
“We could turn the entire state into another Silicon Valley,” Delaney said.
He said the top two drivers of Florida’s economy are agriculture and tourism, but agriculture now produces less revenue than tourism related to golf.
He thinks higher education could be Florida’s third economic driver, attracting new faculty members who would bring with them billions of dollars in federal research grants.
“We could make Florida the most attractive place in the world for scientists,” said Delaney.
He said he was recently asked if he thinks there is a better job than being president of a state university.
“The only other job I would want would be a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said, “but I’m not on President Obama’s short list.”
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