Ross, Thomas Warren

(b. 1950) Thomas Warren Ross, Sr. began his post as Davidson’s 17th president on August 1, 2007. A Davidson College graduate of the class of 1972, Ross attended law school at the Univsersity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating with honors. For 17 years, he served as a North Carolina Superior Court judge, appointed by Governor Jim Martin (Davidson Class of 1957). For his dedicated service in that position, he received the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence in 2000. Prior to accepting the presidency of Davidson College, Ross served as the executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation from 2000 until 2007.

His awards include the N.C. Academy of Trial Lawyers Trial Judge of the Year (1994), Order of the Long Leaf Pine (1999) and the William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence (2000). The son of a Davidson graduate and father of two Davidson graduates, during his tenure as president he strengthened the Davidson Trust endowment during difficult economic times, expanded the colleges environmental sustainability programs and initiated a strategic assessment process for a new campus master plan.  Ross stepped down as president of Davidson College in 2010 to become the University of North Carolina system president.

Presidents – Works Cited

Robert Hall Morrison, Samuel Williamson, Drury Lacy, John Lycan Kirkpatrick, George Wilson McPhail, John Rennie Blake, Andrew Dousa Hepburn, Luther McKinnon, John Bunyan Shearer, Henry Louis Smith, William Joseph Martin, Jr., Walter Lee Lingle, John Rood Cunningham, David Grier Martin, Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr., John Wells Kuykendall, Robert Fredrick Vagt, Thomas Warren Ross, Sr.

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Ramsey, Robert Wilson. Milestones Backward Run: The Story of Beta Theta Pi at Davidson,1858-1940. Davidson, NC: The Phi Alpha Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, 1940.

Ratliff, Charles E. Economics at Davidson: A Sesquicentennial History. Davidson, NC: Davidson College, 1987.

Scherer, John P. A Code of Civility: Antiwar Dissent at Davidson College During the Vietnam Era. Davidson College Honors Thesis, 1989.

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Shaw, Cornelia Rebekah. Davidson College. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1923.

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Author: Mark Grotjohn
Date: 29 March 2007

Cite as: Grotjohn, Mark “Thomas Warren Ross ” Davidson Encyclopedia, 29 March 2007 

https://digitalprojects.davidson.edu/omeka/s/college-archives-davidson-encyclopedia/page/ross-thomas-warren

Related Entries: President’s House, Presidents of Davidson College