Melissa Ross
Now that Jacksonville University is in the running to host a 2016 presidential debate, the jockeying is underway to make sure the leafy riverside campus gets its shot on national TV.
It would be the second time in recent memory that a Jacksonville campus played host to a debate during a presidential election year. The University of North Florida was the site of one of the many GOP presidential primary debates in the spring of 2012.
“We are humbled and honored to be considered as a host site and believe we are an ideal location, not only because Florida is a key state in national elections, but also because of our emerging role as a leader in public policy and discourse,” JU President Tim Cost said. “We’ve made an outstanding competitive bid highlighting our excellent facilities and resources, and are grateful to have very broad public, private and civic support.”
Should the bid be successful, it would be the latest in a series of Next Level moves by Cost (see: Florida Cup, ASPIRE, Nigerian petroleum workers. Yes, that is a thing.)
So why might the Commission on Presidential Debates pick JU out of the 16 total schools they’re considering to host a presidential or vice presidential debate in fall 2016? Here are a few reasons:
Florida, Florida, Florida
JU is the only Florida school on the list. That, in and of itself, gives the Dolphins an edge. The Sunshine State will of course be a top electoral prize for both sides in 2016, whether the players are Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio and Hillary Clinton, Rand Paul and Hillary Clinton, or none of the above (always a possibility).
“Florida will be a key state in a key election year, and we are located in a large city that represents a convergence of important issues facing many communities, including in commerce, education, the military and the environment. Jacksonville University’s spectacular setting, excellent facilities, national student body and history of distinguished speakers make it an outstanding choice to host a debate of this stature,” JU Chief Financial Officer David Healy says.
JU’s Public Policy Institute
Helmed by former Jacksonville General Counsel and mayoral candidate Rick Mullaney, the Public Policy Institute has been around for only about four years, but it has quickly established itself as a player at the intersection of politics and policy, further burnishing the school’s bona fides.
Fran Kinne’s Fat Rolodex
Over the years, JU has hosted a long list of national and world leaders, including former President Gerald Ford, former U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. That’s because in no small part to Dr. Frances Bartlett Kinne, the school’s former president and the first female college president in Florida. Now Chancellor Emeritus, the 97-year-old Kinne has been on a first-name basis over the years with everyone from Bob Hope to Winston S. Churchill. It’s a legacy of influence the current university leadership has smartly capitalized on.
And interestingly, only a few of the other schools under consideration are in swing states, which may or may not be significant.
Here’s the full list:
- Belmont University, Nashville
- Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Ala.
- South Texas College, McAllen, Texas
- Dominican University of California, San Rafael, Calif.
- Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Ky.
- Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Ga.
- Hofstra University, Hempstead, N.Y.
- Houston Community College, Houston
- Longwood University, Farmville, Va.
- State University of New York Rockland Community College (SUNY RCC) in partnership with Rockland Debates 2016, Suffern, N.Y.
- Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis
- West Virginia University and West Virginia State University, Charleston, W.Va.
- Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio
