Milo C. Ross was born January 17, 1911, in Salem, Oregon, and died in Medford, Oregon, on September 13, 1979, at age 68.

After graduating in 1928 from high school in Salem, Milo enrolled at Portland Bible Institute and received a diploma in 1931. Strength in faith and leadership were evident through Milo’s involvement with Christian Endeavor in Oregon Yearly Meeting. His first pastorate was at Rosedale Friends Church. It was during that time that he took classes at Willamette University and completed a degree in Spanish along with a secondary teaching credential. On September 12, 1934, Milo married Helen Ritter. Helen died in 1954.

Milo served as a Friends pastor in the Northwest for twenty years and was very involved in the ministries of Oregon Yearly Meeting. The four churches he served were Rosedale (1933-36), Greenleaf (1936-42), Medford (1942-49), and Seattle (1949-53). From 1953 to 1961 Milo was the voice of the Quaker Hour—a weekly radio broadcast.

In March of 1954 the George Fox College Board of Trustees unanimously hired Milo Ross as the eighth president of the college. During his fifteen-year leadership of George Fox College, at least thirteen buildings were built or remodeled, enrollment increased over 400 percent, and major studies were undertaken to increase the academic quality of the institution and obtain regional accreditation.

Milo married Alice Wheeler in 1955. Following his tenure as George Fox College president, Milo continued to serve in leadership positions that included chancellor of the Associated Christian Colleges of Oregon, a member of the pastoral team at Reedwood Friends Church in Portland, and president of the George Fox College Foundation.

Other sources for biographical information include the following sections in The Making of a Quaker College:

• Preface by Dennis Hagen (pages ix-xix)
• Appendix A: Family History (pages 193, 194)
• Appendix B: The Family Story by Doryce Ross Fraser (pages 195-207)
• Appendix C: The Ross Descendants (pages 209-211)