Frances Kinne, the first female university president in Florida, dies at 102

Frances Bartlett Kinne, former president of Jacksonville University, speaking at a Jacksonville University commencement. Kinne died Sunday at 102. Photo from JU.edu.

Frances Bartlett Kinne, the first woman to become a university president in Florida, passed away Sunday at the age of 102.

Kinne was appointed president of Jacksonville University in 1979.

She died from complications from a stroke suffered on April 21. In the past week, university officials had said it appeared she was on the road to recovery.

Kinne played an active role at Jacksonville University long after her tenure as president had ended. She was close to current JU President Tim Cost, himself a graduate of JU.

“The matriarch of our university, the chancellor emeriti herself, has passed away…,” Cost said in video statement. “When she went past 100… it seems she got wiser, more clever, funnier all along.”

Kinne was a force whose reach extended well beyond the university’s campus, nestled on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville’s Arlington area.

She established two colleges within the university: the Davis College of Business and Keigwin School of Nursing. She also was at the forefront of establishing JU’s aviation program. The Kinne University Center on JU’s campus is named after her.

The Kinne Alumni Center at Drake University was also named after her.

Her charm was well noted during the 10 years she served as JU president, and she attracted big-name guest speakers to the campus during her decade leading the school, including  President Gerald Ford, Bob Hope, Jack Benny and Charlton Heston, among others.

Kinne also served as a role model for many women and was active in many women’s causes. She also helped establish the Kinne Auditorium at Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic.

More than half her life was spent in the service of JU. She began at the school as a humanities professor in 1958, eventually rising to dean of Fine Arts before becoming president. She was JU chancellor from 1989-1994 and served as chancellor emeriti until her passing.

She died 13 days before her 103 birthday.

One of JU’s favorite and often-cited quotes from Kinne: “My whole theme has been this: that life is not about me, it’s about others.”