T H E N E W FA C E O F
P H I L A N T H R O P Y: M AT T ' 0 1
AND ALEXIS KANE '02
BY SHERI WEBBER '93
“The connections to JU run deep,” said
Jacksonville University alumnus Matthew
"Matt" R. Kane '01. Although he recently
completed his 2009-2018 term as a Board of
Trustees member, Matt remains at the center
of a new philanthropic efforts fueling the
University’s bright future.
For both Matt and his wife Alexis Cociatori
Kane, CRNA '02, the University has been a
constant thread throughout their lives. As
undergrads, alumni, Dolphins fans, and now
as two of JU’s premier investors. Though their
early life experiences vary, the conviction is
the same.
“JU has been a really special place for us
overall, and it will always be,” said Matt.
HIS STORY
Describing himself then as 17 years old and
precocious, Matt applied for a Naval ROTC
scholarship at the University of Rochester
and selected Tulane and JU as alternate
schools, Tulane because of Mardi Gras and
Jacksonville University because it was the
only NROTC school in Florida. “It's so cold
at Rochester that they have underground
tunnels to avoid walking in the snow and
wind. I intended to go there and spend the
rest of my career in the Navy.”
After being medically disqualified from
what he then considered his dream, Matt
scrambled to replace the promised NROTC
scholarship with an academic one. But
Tulane and Rochester declined. “So, I
showed up at Jacksonville University
two days before the start of the 1998 fall
semester. I'd never been on campus, never
even been to Jacksonville.”
Matt was born in Pennsylvania in 1980.
Throughout high school and later into his
college years, he’d worked at Centocor, a
subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. One of
the young executives at Centocor was none
other than Tim Cost, President of Jacksonville
University since 2013. Matt said, “We
didn't know each other then. He was in the
executive suite, and I was an intern.”
FEATURES
Despite their differing stages of life, both men
spent a significant portion of their lives in
Pennsylvania, both graduated from JU, and
both had close relationships with Dr. Frances
Bartlett Kinne, who was Chancellor Emerita
by the time Matt entered as a computer
science major.
“You know, when I first came to JU, it was
under really unusual circumstances. But from
those four years came the best of friends,
opportunities never before imagined, and an
unbelievable educational experience.”
HER STORY
Though she later became a legacy student—
the daughter of a JU alumnus—Alexis
considered several schools, including the
University of Florida, University of North
Florida, and colleges in York, Pennsylvania.
A native New Yorker, Alexis said, “I originally
chose a larger university, but it wasn't the
college experience I thought that I would
have. When I asked about applying to the
schools’ various nursing programs, I was
discouraged from applying.”
After much searching for the right college fit,
she was accepted at JU, and told her parents
the great news, especially her father, Robert
J. Conciatori, who studied education at JU
and graduated in 1973.
Her first day on campus was the beginning
of her sophomore year. “That was the day
I met Matt—the first person I ever met on
campus.” Matt recalled her looking lost as
she searched for her first class of the day.
It was computer science, Matt’s major, an
ironic moment both still laugh about today.