On Feb. 13, the second student open forum for presidential candidates took place in the Student Union, featuring  John Floros the Dean of the College of Agriculture at Kansas University.

There are two main issues Floros wants to focus on. One is figuring out how to improve the university metrics compared to what UNF has done in the past.“If we don’t do well in terms of metrics we’re not gonna get the funds and the resources we need to improve as an institution.”

“If we don’t do well in terms of metrics we’re not gonna get the funds and the resources we need to improve as an institution,” said Floros.

The second issue Floros wants to look at is the moral of both students and faculty. Floros said that one way he would improve that is by having often and honest conversation with the students, the faculty, and staff and outside people as well.

To get students more involved on campus Floros said he would ask students what they want. Floros told a story about how he allowed students to organize an event at Kansas University, and because the students were allowed to control the event and make it something they cared about, the auditorium the event was held in was packed when they had been only expecting 20 to 30 students.

Floros was asked about how he would increase diversity and inclusion on campus. 

“Fostering diversity and getting people to be inclusive, and to really figure out a way how to work together as a society and not as groups will benefit everybody from the students to the faculty and the community,” said Floros. “We need a diverse workforce and a diverse student body, and one way to do that is to really start talking about it more openly.”

When asked how he would respond to controversial events such as the racist video that went viral, or the white supremacists who came to campus, both of which occurred last semester, he said a solution would be to unify as a campus and commit to diversity and inclusion and commit to being against such “barbaric acts.” He also believes in asking students what they think should be done through very open conversations about race.

Floros says he no longer wants UNF to be the best-kept secret, but rather as a known as the place to be.

“[UNF] needs to be the driver of economic growth in the city, the region, and maybe even beyond. The driver of cultural change in the region and beyond and that we need to address challenges that region has. We need to find a way to help Jacksonville, North East Florida and maybe the state and beyond,” Floros said. “I would like UNF to be known as the most impactful regional university there is.”

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