Thomas W. Ross

Thomas W. Ross
President of the University of North Carolina
In office
January 1, 2011 – January 4, 2016
Preceded by Erskine Bowles
Succeeded by Margaret Spellings
17th President of Davidson College
In office
2007–2010
Preceded by Robert F. Vagt
Succeeded by Carol Quillen
Personal details
Born (1950-06-05) June 5, 1950
Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater Davidson College
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Thomas Warren Ross Sr. is an American public official who served as the president of the University of North Carolina system from 2011 to 2016. He succeeded Erskine Bowles on January 1, 2011. Formerly, he was president of Davidson College, a private North Carolina liberal arts college from August 1, 2007 to January 1, 2011.

Ross, a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, graduated from Davidson in 1972, as did his father in 1937 and his children in 1999 and 2001. In 1975, he graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Ross became an attorney, chief of staff to Congressman Robin Britt, a state superior court judge for 17 years, director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, and executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem (2001–2007). He is a former chairman of the UNC Greensboro Board of Trustees.

Ross is the recipient of the William Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Governing Magazine's National Public Official of the Year award (one of ten, 1994), and the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.[1]

Ross is known for his controversial sentence of a non-violent offender to 160 years in prison.[2] In 1989, he sentenced Derek Twyman (a Canadian citizen living in North Carolina) to 160 years in prison for non-violent property crimes. In 2016, 27 years later, he was surprised to hear that Mr. Twyman was still in prison. The following year, Ross helped obtain parole for Mr. Twyman who was able to return to Canada that summer.

On August 26, 2010, Ross was elected president of the University of North Carolina system.[3][4][5]

On June 6, 2015, Ross delivered the commencement address at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, a UNC member institution.[6]

In an article on the Washington Post on May 18, 2016, as of July 1, 2016, Ross will become the president of the Volcker Alliance, a nonpartisan organization aimed at rebuilding public trust in government that was founded by Paul Volcker.[7]

Ross was named the first Terry Sanford Distinguished Fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy in 2016.[8]

References

  1. ↑ http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x23404.xml
  2. ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/sh/A77MM47Hyc/long-time-gone/
  3. ↑ News & Observer: Davidson president to lead UNC system Archived 2010-08-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ News & Observer: It's official: Ross is the new UNC president Archived 2010-08-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ UNC Press release: Ross Elected President of the University of North Carolina
  6. ↑ "Sending Off Class Of 2015 To Lead And Help Others". North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. NCSSM. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  7. ↑ News & Observer
  8. ↑ "UNC President Emeritus Ross Named Sanford Fellow at Duke | Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy". sanford.duke.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
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