The president of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting on Jan. 19.

UNC System President Tom Ross will speak at the 108th annual meeting at Nash Community College’s Business & Industry Center.

In 2001, Ross became executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a Winston-Salem based philanthropic organization devoted to improving the lives of the people of North Carolina. Ross stepped down in 2007 to return to Davidson College as its president.

He was named president of the UNC system in August.

Jeffrey Batts, 2011 Chamber chairman, praised the keynote speaker.

“I don’t know of anyone that has served in such a variety of key leadership positions in our judicial, educational and governmental spheres, and with such distinction, as Tom Ross,” he said in a prepared statement. “With his thorough understanding of North Carolina and his commitment to improving the lives of people all over our state, Ross was an excellent choice to lead our university system into the future. We look forward to hearing his vision for the future of higher education in the UNC system.”

The Chamber’s annual meeting serves as a “changing of the guard,” with the passing of the chairman’s gavel this year from attorney Batts to Lige Daughtridge, the owner Daughtridge Sales Co. The Distinguished Citizen of the Year also will be recognized at the event.

The meeting begins with seating for dinner at 6:15 p.m.

Tickets for the event are $40 per ticket, and reserved table seating is available for the dinner program.

Tickets can be ordered through the Chamber’s website, or by calling the Chamber at 973-1211.

Ross was born and raised in Greensboro, and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1972 from Davidson College before graduating with honors from UNC School of Law in 1975.

At the age of 33, Ross was appointed by then-Gov. Jim Hunt to fill a vacancy on the N.C. Superior Court, a position he held for 17 years.