JOHN DELANEY

PRESIDENT, FLAGLER COLLEGE, ST. AUGUSTINE

The former two-term Jacksonville mayor and former University of North Florida president was hired by Flagler College in 2021. The school has 2,400 mostly undergraduate students on what Conde Nast calls one of the “most beautiful college campuses in the United States.” Delaney has focused on a $65-million private fundraising drive and an ongoing renovation to the historic Ponce de Leon Hotel, built by Henry Flagler, that is the campus’s centerpiece. As UNF president from 2003-18, he tripled the endowment and significantly increased admission standards and built community relationships. Some 2 million square feet of buildings were added during his tenure, or nearly half of the campus footprint. As Jacksonville mayor from 1998-2003, he pushed a half-cent sales tax voters approved for a $2.5-billion “Better Jacksonville” initiative that funded construction of a new county courthouse, library, parks and more.