In October of 2021, John Delaney was selected by the Flagler College Board of Trustees to serve as the Flagler College President.
John was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, after being born in Michigan, and his family eventually moved to Jacksonville, Florida. John attended Terry Parker High School in Jacksonville and graduated from the University of Florida (UF). While at UF, he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity and received his Juris Doctorate (law degree) from the Levin College of Law at UF.
He is the President Emeritus of the University of North Florida, retiring after 15 years, and was named the Interim Chancellor of the Florida university system in 2008-09.
While at UNF, he tripled the endowment, 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.
He was previously elected Mayor of Jacksonville, the largest city in land area in the continental U.S. and the 12th in population. His tenure was marked by the Better Jacksonville Plan, a $2.5 billion capital improvement plan, and the Preservation Project. The Preservation Project created a 100-square-mile park system, the largest of its kind for a city in the country. In 2003, he received the President’s Conservation Achievement Award from the Nature Conservancy for the project. He served two terms as mayor and was elected without opposition for his second term.
He is also an attorney, having been the Chief Assistant State Attorney for the northeast Florida area and General Counsel for the City of Jacksonville. He is currently Of Counsel to the Rogers Towers Law Firm and The Fiorentino Group, a consulting firm.
John and Gena, his wife of over forty years, have two daughters, two sons, and five grandchildren and helped raise a niece and a nephew.