Biography
K. Michael Welch, MB, ChB, FRCP; President and CEO
On December 2, 2002, Dr. K. Michael A. Welch assumed the presidency of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, then known as Finch University. Since joining the University, Dr. Welch has implemented a number of noteworthy initiatives. He led the University through a renaming process that has met with national acclaim from the academic and scientific community. In less than two years’ time, Dr. Welch’s leadership has enabled a new culture of financial transparency, the evolution of the University from a commuter institution to a residential campus, and the continued development of cutting-edge educational technology. He established principles of constituent governance, setting up an Office of the President where the representatives of the schools, faculty and students participate in leadership of the institution. With his support, the University has formed an Office for Multicultural Affairs, a Wellness Program, an Office of Educational Technology, an Office of Legal Counsel, an Office of Compliance, and an Office of Faculty Development.
Shortly after arriving at the University, Dr. Welch launched a full institutional assessment, which provided the information necessary to implement a strategic planning process, a student debt reduction plan, and new models of integrating the education of all health professions with the goal of enhanced delivery of health care. The President’s Office has supported the creation of a cutting-edge Education and Evaluation Center and the development of a multimedia anatomy facility that was recently dedicated the John J. Sheinin, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., Gross Anatomy Laboratory. Dr. Welch continues to unveil plans for strategic initiatives that enable the institution to better serve its students, faculty, staff, patients and community. Dr. Welch is a neurologist and world-renowned researcher whose career has focused on the study of brain function in cerebrovascular disease, stroke and migraine. Dr. Welch came to Rosalind Franklin University in 2002 from the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he served as vice chancellor of Research and president of the Research Institute.
Dr. Welch earned his medical degree at the University of Bristol School of Medicine, United Kingdom, and came to the United States in the early 1970s. He held several positions at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas), including Chief of Neurology at the Ben Taub Hospital. He taught the neuroscience program for medical and graduate students before relocating to Michigan in 1981 to become the founding chair of the Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital (HFH), now the Henry Ford Hospital and Health Sciences Center. Later, as vice president for Academic Affairs at HFH, he founded the Health Sciences Center and was instrumental to negotiations that culminated in its academic affiliation with Case Western Reserve University.
Also at HFH, Dr. Welch was director of the NMR Research Center, the principal investigator of two NIH-funded centers for stroke and headache research, and the clinician responsible for the overall conduct of the NINDS tissue plasminogen study (the first to establish effectiveness of thrombolysis in acute stroke). Dr. Welch continues to serve NIH as chair of several oversight committees for clinical trials. He has served as Clinical Professor at the University of Michigan, Professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve University, and as Adjunct Professor at Oakland University and the University of New Mexico.
While representing the University of Kansas, Dr. Welch performed a pivotal role in establishing regional alliances with Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Children’s Mercy Hospital and the Midwest Research Institute. He is very proud of his involvement with Kansas City’s community project that created the Life Sciences Institute; this Institute serves as a catalyst for investments in local health care research.
Dr. Welch built the Hoglund Brain Imaging Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center, wherein the imaging labs were named after him. He was also recognized for playing a major role in a $120 million allocation from the State of Kansas for the life sciences, including a $65 million life sciences building on the KU Medical Center campus. He was also a key figure in the founding of the Kidney Institute at the University of Kansas Medical Center.