Football is only one part of the FAU vision for greatness

We went to the FAU football game Saturday and it was great.
A 41-37 thriller won by the Owls.
I’m embarrassed to say it was the first time I attended a game. I love football and FAU and I’ve had my share of opportunities but we just never seemed to go.
But when Beth Johnston, a dear friend who works for FAU, arranged for a Delray day and a spot in the President’s suite alongside friends we just had to go.  I’m glad we did.
The new stadium is beautiful.

The sight lines are great and the atmosphere is terrific. It’s college football and you get swept up in the excitement.
The crowd was fair, not empty but not filled either, but those who attended seemed to be having a wonderful time. Still, the program has some work to do in order to fill 30,000 seats. It’s important that they get there and it will be a landmark day for our community when it happens. And I think it will.
In addition to football, the afternoon was a primer on FAU. Beth is a great host and a passionate professional she wasn’t going to let this opportunity to connect people to FAU pass.

We started the afternoon with some FAU trivia that focused on the university’s academic accomplishments; which are surprising and considerable.
Over the course of the game we had a chance to mingle with President Kelly and his wife, FAU Board Chair Anthony Barbar and the newly appointed director of public leadership among others from the school and foundation.  It was an enlightening experience and President Kelly and his team exude vision, confidence and ambition. They yearn to be a top 25 university, a place of national significance and they seem to have a plan and a laser like focus to achieve that lofty goal.
We should not only be rooting for that to happen we ought to be involved in making it so. Because if FAU thrives and excels it’s good for all of us, especially it’s host city Boca and it’s neighbor Delray.
It’s also good for our kids and community. Businesses will have an educated workforce, entrepreneurs may decide to stay and others will locate here because of FAU’s research, resources and energy.
A great university is a valuable calling card and amenity for a region.
In my few minutes with President Kelly we discussed his tenure at Clemson and it’s impact on Greenville and the region which was significant. He’s enamored with Delray and is clearly reaching out for closer ties. So is Jorge Calzadilla, the recently hired VP of Public Service who did magnificent things for children in Clemson’s service area. Mr. Calzadilla also mentioned a desire to focus FAU’s resources on community issues especially those relating to children and families. This is an opportunity that city officials in Delray would be wise to embrace.
Chairman Barbar also sees the new administration as an amazing opportunity to fulfill FAU’s potential to impact the region. He and other business leaders recently travelled to Raleigh NC where they saw the power of three great universities to drive innovation and economic development in the Research Triangle area.

The folks in Raleigh have a significant head start but there is no barrier to this region becoming world class as well –provided we knock down some parochial walls that exist between counties, cities, other institutions and business organizations.
The moment is here because in our backyard we also have a terrific university in Lynn with an international student body, a visionary president and faculty and a dynamic business school and curriculum. We just have to work together, root for one another, make some strategic investments, get involved and yes attend a few games.
The future will thank us if we do.