For a city
like Jacksonville to become great, and for an institution like the
University
of North Florida to become a leader, it takes the support, insight and
passion
of many individuals. For Jacksonville and UNF, one of those individuals
is Dr.
William C. Mason.
Mason
arrived in Jacksonville in 1978 as CEO of Baptist Medical
Center and started building a legacy right away, taking Baptist
from one
downtown hospital to the largest health system in the region, with five
hospitals, 28 primary care clinics and more than 8,000 employees.
His
involvement
with the city turned to international trade when he served as a
member of the JAXPORT board of directors for eight years, with two terms
as
chairman overseeing several economic development initiatives, including
opening
terminals for MOL/TraPac and Hanjin, and bringing the cruise industry to
town.
Mason has spent years
building up Jacksonville’s
infrastructure in commerce and health care, but one of his most
cherished
passions is education. Recognizing the potential impact UNF could have
on the
community, he became increasingly involved with the institution.
He
served on
the UNF Foundation Board, donated money to help expand academics, served
on two
separate presidential search
committees that elected Dr. Adam Herbert and later Dr. Anne Hopkins, and
also
served as Executive in Residence at the Coggin College of Business and
interim
director of the graduate program in health administration at the Brooks
College
of Health.
Mason said it was a
natural progression for him to get his doctorate ineducational
leadership in 2002.
“I
thought
it would be a very enjoyable project for me to go through the doctoral
program
there,” he said. “I thought it would help me do an even better job in
improving
education and teaching.”
Apparently
it
worked, and others around the UNF community have recognized Mason’s
efforts
to improve education. Dr. Larry Daniel, dean of the College of Education
and
Human Services at UNF, said he has admired Mason’s commitment to the
University
and understanding of the importance of education as it relates to the
health of
a community.
“Jacksonville
is on a quest to become a leading city in the U.S., and one of the
components
to that will be to broaden the education level of the population, and
that’s
where [Mason] will be a champion,” Daniel said. “I think he sees
education as
one of the very leading factors for what is going to take Jacksonville
from a
nice place and turn it into a world-class city. He’s been very
civic-minded,
and we’re absolutely proud to have him as an alumnus.”
“The
University
is an extremely integral, relevant and valuable part of our
community in many ways,”
Mason said. “I’m so grateful that I’ve had this
privilege to be a part of UNF through the years, and I’m excited about
the
future of the University. I think it is very worthy of support from the
community.”
Mason said
he’s very fond of the University. “It has meant a lot to me in my life.”
