President-designate George Ross comes from rural background
Central Michigan University President-elect George Ross cherishes the values of education.
Born in rural Mississippi as a middle child with 11 siblings, education has taken him far.
“There’s been a lot of conversation about our economic situation in this country,” Ross said. “Economic times will be difficult for this country for several years to come. I don’t necessarily want that to be our focus, as strange as that may sound. We have to remember that we are a university, and we need to focus on our students.”
His family moved to Flint when he was 13, where he attended middle and high school.
He graduated from Flint Northern High School, and went on to undergraduate and masters studies and Michigan State University.
After receiving his master’s degree in business administration, Ross received a Ph.D in higher education administration at the University of Alabama, and went on to post-doctoral studies at Harvard.
Time at CMU
After several university administrative jobs, Ross spent five years as CMU’s vice president for finance and administrative services from December 2002 to January 2008.
In that position, he led the creation of the CMU Promise, which set a fixed tuition rate for new students for up to five years. The plan ended in 2008, however, because of economic concerns. Tuition rose 69.7 percent for incoming freshmen during the CMU Promise years — from $179.15 per credit hour to $304.
Ross accepted the presidency at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss., on April 3, 2007, but had to postpone his arrival until Jan. 1, 2008, because he was diagnosed with acute leukemia in May. He was treated at University Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Ross will stay as president at ASU until February.
“He’s made great strides here at Alcorn State University,” said Clara Ross Stamps, associate vice president of marketing at Alcorn. “He’s accomplished a lot in the time he’s been here.”
Stamps said one of Ross’ biggest accomplishments was establishing an underway $47 million construction project to build a new residence hall to house more than a thousand students.
A new era
Tears flowed from Gerri Wright’s eyes as Ross was appointed at Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
“I just never thought that this would happen at this university,” said Wright, a retired CMU faculty member. “He presented himself as he was, as he grew up and the obstacles he had to overcome to get where he is now. He’s up to the occasion and, for me, it’s a really joyous occasion, simply because of the meaning of having a person of color lead this institution.”
Ross understands why people may see his appointment as significant, but said he would rather focus on the power of higher education and what it did for him.
“There may be a sense of pride amongst African Americans, but there should be a sense of pride amongst everyone,” Ross said. “I’m just a rural farm kid that got an education. I’m not special, I’m one of 12 kids. I’m the only one that got an education. That is the only thing that differentiates myself from my brothers and sisters.”
