UNC System president emeritus Tom Ross has been named president of the Volcker Alliance.

The organization announced the move on Tuesday. The Volcker Alliance is a “nonpartisan organization formed in 2013 to address the challenge of effective execution of public policies and to rebuild public trust in government,” according to its website.

Volcker Alliance founder and chairman Paul Volcker released a statement announcing the appointment:

“The strains and pressures on government at all levels are plain to see. Tom Ross’s broad experience in education, government, and philanthropy will be brought to bear on all our efforts to improve government performance.”

Ross led the UNC System until January 2016, following a tumultuous 2015 that began with the UNC Board of Governors, appointed by a GOP-led General Assembly, announcing it would be looking for a replacement for Ross, a Democrat.

Ross is quoted in the release:

“I admire and am inspired by Mr. Volcker’s vision in creating the Alliance. It will be an honor for me to work alongside of him and the other outstanding board members to catalyze the development of a new generation of public servants and improve the effectiveness of our federal and state governments.”

Ross was named the first Terry Sanford Distinguished Fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy in January. In that role he is leading an effort from a bipartisan group of retired North Carolina judges to show a model of what state election maps may look like if the General Assembly were to implement an independent redistricting commission. A federal court forced the legislature to redraw North Carolina’s congressional district map earlier this year after it ruled the prior rendering was unconstitutional.

Ross will continue in his position at Duke while leading the Volcker Alliance. He will begin his new position on July 1.

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