He is the law alumnus who founded a pioneering and hugely successful mobile phone empire and one of the country’s leading education trusts but now David Ross has a new role at the University of Nottingham.
Mr Ross has been made Nottingham’s first honorary Pro-Chancellor in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the continuing success of the University.
The role involves: acting as an Ambassador for the University, promoting it to the wider community and having an active role in the future development of the University.
Mr Ross has served two terms on University Council and stood down from the position earlier this year. This new honorary role carries some of the same responsibilities of a Pro-Chancellor but sits outside of Council.
Chair of University Council John Mills said: “David has made an outstanding contribution to the University and his input to University Council over the last seven years has been greatly appreciated.
“His contribution has gone way beyond the remit of a Council member, from leading the campaign to support sport, investing in Nottingham Potential and providing advice and counsel to successive Vice-Chancellors. We hope that this honorary role demonstrates the high esteem in which we hold him and enables us to continue to work together to cement Nottingham’s reputation as a global institution.”
Mr Ross said: “I am delighted to accept this honour and I look forward to continuing to help the development of the University. It is a great privilege to have seen the progress made so far and to be a part of that − even since I left the University as a student − and I am confident that together we can continue to build Nottingham University into a leading global institution.”
Mr Ross graduated from the University of Nottingham with a degree in law and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He co-founded The Carphone Warehouse Group plc in 1991 and has also been involved in leading many other public and private companies.
Mr Ross is a board member of the British Olympic Association and Chair of The University of Nottingham's Development Committee. David is also Chair of the National Portrait Gallery.
He is passionate about developing educational opportunities for young people, and is the Chair of the David Ross Education Trust and its Sponsor through the David Ross Foundation. Through the Trust, he provides leadership, funding, expertise and time to over 35 academies across the East Midlands and East England − providing education to over 9,000 children and young people.
In 2016 the University opened the £40m David Ross Sports Village – a state of the art facility offering accessible sports provision for all. The facility was supported by a significant commitment from Mr Ross, taking his total support for the University beyond £10 million.
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Notes to editors:
The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.
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