Thomas Warren Ross Sr. is an American public official who served as the president of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

system from 2011 to 2016. He succeeded

Erskine Bowles Erskine Boyce Bowles (born August 8, 1945) is an American businessman and political figure from North Carolina. He served from 2005 to 2010 as the president of the University of North Carolina system. In 1997–98 he served as White House Chi ...

on January 1, 2011. Formerly, he was president of Davidson College, a private

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

liberal arts college from August 1, 2007, to January 1, 2011, and received membership in Omicron Delta Kappa while there in 2008.

Career

Ross, a native of

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

, 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 The University of North Carolina School of Law is the law school of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Established in 1845, Carolina Law is among the oldest law schools in the United States and is the oldest law school in North Caro ...

. Ross became an attorney, chief of staff to Congressman

Robin Britt Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

, 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 Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

(2001–2007). He is a former chairman of the UNC Greensboro Board of Trustees. Ross is the recipient of the

William Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist ( ; October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American attorney and jurist who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 33 years, first as an associate justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as the 16th chief justice from ...

Award for Judicial Excellence, the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

Governing Magazine ''Governing'' is a website, edited and published in Washington, D.C., that covers state and local government in the United States. Originally a national monthly magazine, it was published in print 1987 and 2019. It covers policy, politics, and the ...

's National Public Official of the Year award (one of ten, 1994), and the

Order of the Long Leaf Pine The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, created in 1964, is an honor that can be granted in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2021, it was believed the Order had been awarded to more than 21,000 people. The Order The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is ...

. Ross is known for his controversial sentence of a non-violent offender to 160 years in prison. 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

system. On June 6, 2015, Ross delivered the commencement address at the

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school located in Durham, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of science, mathematics and technology. It accepts rising juniors ...

, a UNC member institution. Ross was fired as president by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors; he publicly stated that his departure was not voluntary. His last day at the University of North Carolina was January 3, 2016. 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 Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. (September 5, 1927 – December 8, 2019) was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman, Volcker was widely credited with having ended th ...

. Ross was named the first Terry Sanford Distinguished Fellow at Duke University's

Sanford School of Public Policy The Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University is named after former Duke president and Governor of North Carolina Terry Sanford, who established the university's Institute for Policy Sciences and Public Affairs in 1971 as an interdiscipl ...

in 2016.

References

External links

Winston-Salem Journal article: Davidson College alum returns as its new presidentDavidson press releaseOfficial BiographyDistinguished Alumnus Award citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Thomas W. 1950 births Davidson College alumni Living people North Carolina lawyers North Carolina state court judges Presidents of the University of North Carolina System University of North Carolina School of Law alumni Presidents of Davidson College Grimsley High School alumni