Davidson picks alum Ross as president
Davidson College on Thursday
named 1972 graduate Thomas W. Ross Sr. (photo) to replace Robert F. Vagt as president beginning Aug. 1.
Mr. Ross is currently executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem. He also had a 17-year career as a North Carolina Superior Court Judge.
Read the official announcement on the college website.
The news, announced at a 10:30 a.m. meeting at the college’s Duke Family Performance Hall, followed a national search to replace Dr. Vagt, who plans to retire at the end of the school year.
(Read more about Dr. Vagt’s decision and the search process in our March 5 article, “College presidential search in full swing.”)
Paul Leonard, a 1962 Davidson graduate and chair of the presidential search committee, told the crowd the new president is a lifelong Presbyterian who sees this opportunity “as a calling — and not just from the trustees.”
AFFORDABLE DAVIDSON
The Duke Family Performance Hall was filled with staff, students, faculty, alumni, trustees and community members for the announcement.
After being introduced, Mr. Ross said, “I am truly humbled, in a way I never have been,” about following in the footsteps of Sam Spencer, John Kuykendall and Bobby Vagt (all previous Davidson presidents).
He pledged to help ensure that Davidson remains “affordable and accessible to the best minds,” regardless of family circumstances.
Davidson made national headlines last week when it announced it was eliminating loans as part of student financial aid.
Mr. Ross specifically mentioned the new no-loan policy, and said it will be up to him to make it work. “Resources will be needed to support this decision — and I knew that when I took the job!” he said.
DAVIDSON ‘VIRTUES’
For alumni and parents, Mr. Ross promised to be vigilant in protecting Davidson’s virtues.
Mr. Ross appeared on the stage with his daughter, Mary Kathryn, and wife, Susan Donaldson Ross. Mary Kathryn (Davidson class of 2001) worked in the college’s community service office and alumni relations for several years after graduation, and now lives in Charlotte. The Rosses’ son Tommy was a 1999 graduate.
Shelley Rigger, a Davidson political science professor, contributed to this article, reporting from the introduction ceremony.
Filed under: Davidson College
