All in the family

Lynn University in Boca Raton, announced who will be its second ever President. They didn't go far for a sucessor, the university selected Kevin Ross the son of outgoing President Donald Ross.

Lynn announced Kevin M. Ross' appointment Monday, signaling both change and continuity for a university headed by one of the nation's longest-serving presidents. It may be Lynn's first leadership shift in 35 years, but how many universities can claim a president who grew up in the dorms?

The younger Ross, 33, also has worked at Lynn for seven years in administrative
jobs, most recently as chief operating officer. He previously worked at two Northeast private high schools and Wilmington College, a Delaware school his father headed before Kevin Ross worked there.

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Lynn prides itself on emphasizing undergraduate teaching, encouraging international study and providing tutoring, specialized classes and other academic support for
students with learning troubles. It has about 2,500 undergraduate, master's and
doctoral students.

Trustee chief and major benefactor Christine E. Lynn couldn't be reached despite calls for comment on Monday to talk about how the presidential pick was made, but the possibility of another President Ross had been mentioned for months.

Lynn has long been something of a Ross family project. Donald Ross founded the university in its current form in 1971, when he persuaded investors to revive and reinvent a two-year Catholic women's college that was on the verge of closing. His wife, Helen, is retiring this summer from running the university's Pine Tree Camps. The new president's wife, Kristen, formerly worked in the university's marketing office.

Kevin Ross earned a doctorate in higher education leadership this spring from Vanderbilt University, after four years of flying to Vanderbilt's Nashville campus for an intensive weekend program.

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Though small, Lynn has been known to pay the elder Ross one of academia's biggest salaries. As of 2003-2004, he made $477,000 in non-retirement pay, more than the residents of the University of Florida.

Lynn University can pay its President as much or as little as they wish. It's a private school. Donald Ross did an excellent job with Lynn by anyone's standard.

Note- I best remember Donald Ross for his run for the US House Seat in 1984 that was held by Dan Mica. This seat now currently held by Robert Wexler has never come as close to going Republican in the years since Ross narrowly lost in 1984.

I'm always skeptical when any position gets handed down from one family member to another. Whether in politics or the private sector. With occasional exceptions, the next generation rarely lives up to its predecessor. We'll have to wait sometime before knowing if Kevin Ross is an exception.

Open Post- Freedom Watch, Bright & Early,