Murray G. Ross

Who was Murray G. Ross?

Murray George Ross, OC OOnt was a Canadian sociologist, author, and academic administrator. He was the founding president of Toronto's York University and served in that role from 1959 to 1970.

Born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Ross received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Acadia University in 1936. He received a Master of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Toronto in 1938. He did post-graduate work in sociology at the University of Chicago in 1939 and in Social psychology from Columbia University in 1949. He received a LL.D. from the University of Toronto in 1971.

In 1951, Ross was appointed an associate professor of Social Work at the University of Toronto. He became a Professor in 1955. From 1956 to 1957, he was an Executive Assistant to the President and was a Vice-President from 1957 to 1959. In 1959, he was appointed President of York University and served until 1970 when he became a Professor of Social Science. He retired in 1972.