Jacksonville University today announced the formation of the Cost Honors College with plans to formally launch in 2025. The naming of the Cost Honors College, endorsed by the University’s 26-member Board of Trustees, recognizes President Tim Cost and First Lady Stephanie Cost for their transformational philanthropic support of the University, which now totals $10 million.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are grateful and thank Tim and Stephanie for their incredible generosity and unwavering support of our students and the entire university,” said Chairman of the Board, Matt Kane. “The Cost family is one of the University’s most generous, who consistently give their time, resources, talents, and voices to benefit our students, faculty, and staff dating back to the 1980s.”
The Costs’ catalytic gift enables the University to elevate its honors program and transition to become an honors college. The Cost Honors College will focus on three pillars – academic excellence, thriving residential life, and engaged global citizenry. The gift also supports initiatives and projects that enhance the university's overall academic and campus experience for its 4,000 students.
“Tim and I believe in the impact that a high-quality, challenging education can have on a student’s life and their trajectory,” said Stephanie Cost, Jacksonville University First Lady. “Our lives bear witness to the critical importance of education as students ourselves, as parents of two children who graduated from excellent universities, and now having observed and influenced the life paths of thousands of students over the past decade. We’re gratified to make this investment in the Honors College that will benefit today’s students and future generations.”
Jacksonville University’s Honors Program has been offered to undergraduate students for more than three decades. Today, there are 220 students in the honors program at the University, with plans now in place to fully transition to an Honors College. All students already enrolled in the Honors Program will become members of the Cost Honors College. The first cohort will graduate in Spring 2026.
“Consistent with our plan, since 2013, our university has introduced dozens of programs
and academic offerings to create market-ready graduates in high-demand fields, and
this is the next important step toward again upgrading what we do here,” said President
Cost. “Our goal has always been to build a much better university, serve the broader
Jacksonville community, unlock potential, and graduate more ambitious, competitive,
and well-rounded citizens.”
Tim Cost, a 1981 magna cum laude graduate of Jacksonville University, was selected by the Board of Trustees to become its 12th president in October 2012, assuming the role on Feb. 1, 2013. His prior experience includes 32 years in executive roles at several global Fortune 500 corporations, including PepsiCo, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Kodak, and Aramark.
This fall, timed with the arrival of Executive Director Dr. Lisa Sutherland, the University expanded its honors offerings and programming by introducing the first honors residential living-learning community, opening a dedicated honors lounge located in the heart of campus, and offering enhanced amenities requested by honors students.
Dr. Sutherland, a Ph.D. in nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, has built an impressive career in the corporate and academic
sectors that uniquely qualifies her to lead the Cost Honors College. Sutherland is
best known for creating innovative, forward-thinking strategies that positively transform
the lives of individuals and communities. She served as an executive at Kellogg’s
leading nutrition strategy, communications, and marketing. As a world-class leader
in the food sector, Sutherland has consulted with and led global initiatives for the
largest consumer brand companies, including Walmart, Taco Bell, Kraft-Heinz, and Ahold-Delhaize.
Before her corporate career, Sutherland was a professor and researcher at the prestigious
academic institutions Dartmouth College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill.
Informing the Cost Honors College blueprint is more than two years of rigorous and comprehensive research. The meticulous inquiry included benchmarking more than 80 honors colleges, visiting leaders at top-ranked honors colleges, and interviewing Jacksonville University's senior leaders, faculty, staff, honors students, and alumni. The recommendations and characteristics for best practice honors colleges by the National Collegiate Honors Council, the premier educational organization that supports and promotes honors education, were documented and underpin the transition plan.
“This transformational gift from the Costs enables us to make a more substantial, institution-wide commitment to the honors student experience at Jacksonville University,” Dr. Sutherland said. “Together with our stakeholders, we will build on our strong honors program foundation, innovative approach to higher education, and student-centric philosophy to create a leading honors college that lifts our entire university. We are grateful for this gift, which creates an unmistakable ripple across this university and community, benefitting all students for decades to come.”
The University has already established The Honors College Executive Council, comprising well-respected business leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, alumni, trustees, and staff. This talented charter council will act as significant thought leaders and trusted advisors to help guide the University’s transition from the Honors Program to the Cost Honors College.
Selected for their passion and purpose, the 22 members of the Honors College Executive Council:
Will Baxley ’16; J.D., Georgetown University; attorney, Washington D.C.
Amy Berg, member of Jacksonville University Board of Trustees; President, Better Angels
Society (retired)
Joel Bogaert ‘23, electrical engineer, Reynolds, Smith & Hills (RS&H)
Paul Boynton, member of Jacksonville University Board of Trustees; CEO, Rayonier Advanced
Materials (retired)
Dee Brown ‘90, Senior Associate Athletic Director, University and Athletic Relations,
Jacksonville University; former NBA basketball player
Meredith Carlo, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, FIS Global
Matthew Chang, PE, MBA ‘17, Principal, Chang Industrial
Gary Chartrand, former Executive Chairman, Acosta, Inc; former Chair, Florida State
Board of Education
Madison Chin ‘20, Merchandise Manager, Fanatics
Rebecca Davis, Senior Counsel, Walmart, Bentonville, Arkansas
Cindy Edelman MAT ‘97, arts educator, philanthropist
Mike Freed ‘90, J.D. Georgetown University; shareholder, Gunster
Elizabeth Gainer, licensed mental health counselor, Gainer Counseling and Consulting,
LLC
Steve Halverson, Chief Executive Officer, Haskell (retired)
Ellis Harr ‘16, Chief Financial Officer, Greenshades Software
Josh Martino, President and Legal Counsel for Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q, Inc.
Susan Masucci ‘00, Founder and Principal, ruckus agency
David Miller, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, Brightway Insurance
Joni Poitier, Partner, Moseley, Prichard, Parrish, Knight & Jones
Darnell Smith, Florida Blue Market President; Chief of Staff, City of Jacksonville
Tom Taggart, Associate Vice President of Student Experience, Jacksonville University;
Associate Dean of Students, Jacksonville University College of Law
Ellen Wiss, Founder, READ USA Inc.
