Bill Text: IL HR1344 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates Dr. K. Michael Welch on the occasion of his retirement as President and CEO of Rosalind Franklin University.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Passed) 2018-11-29 - Resolution Adopted [HR1344 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HR1344-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to congratulate Dr. K. Michael Welch on
the occasion of his retirement as President and CEO of Rosalind
Franklin University of Medicine and Science; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Welch assumed the presidency of Rosalind
Franklin University of Medicine and Science in 2002; and
WHEREAS, Since becoming President of Rosalind Franklin
University, Dr. Welch renamed the University and successfully
implemented a full institutional assessment that launched a new
mission and vision for the school, integrating the education of
all health professions with the goal of enhanced delivery of
health care into a model of interprofessional education; he
oversaw a new era of investment in infrastructure and
initiatives that launched a renaissance in education, clinical
care, and discovery; he led the rebuilding of the Board of
Trustees upon foundational principles of communication,
ownership, and accountability and the election of
highly-regarded professionals who restored confidence in the
governing body; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Welch concentrated on community engagement
and service via the Community Care Connection mobile health

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coach, health screening and education, and mentoring outreach
by students and faculty and the student-driven
Interprofessional Community Clinic; he also focused on health
equity and diversifying the healthcare workforce as a means to
improving the health of underserved populations; additionally,
he led the initiative on building community and clinical
partnerships in the quest for improved health and well being;
and
WHEREAS, Dr. Welch supported the development of pipelines
and pathways, including the nationally recognized INSPIRE
program, the Pre-Matriculation Program, and many other efforts
to diversify STEM fields and improve care; he oversaw the
construction of new buildings and facilities, including
student housing, the Gross Anatomy Lab, the Evaluation Center,
a new research wing/BSB, the Morningstar Interprofessional
Education Center, the Rothstein Warden Centennial Learning
Center, and, opening next summer, the Innovation and Research
Park; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Welch championed key investments in
simulation technology, which offers students and working
health professionals and their institutions training to
improve diagnosis and safety; he led the establishment of think
tanks for research and advocacy; he supported the establishment
of the nationally-recognized Center for Lower Extremity

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Ambulatory Research at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of
Podiatric Medicine and the Master Teacher Guild; in 2012, he
led the successful Centennial Celebration and Scholarship
Campaign; and
WHEREAS, 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; a neurologist and
internationally recognized researcher and expert in brain
function and structure in cerebrovascular disease, stroke, and
migraine, he is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians;
his career has included appointments in England, Australia, and
the United States, the latter including Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where,
as founding chair of the Department of Neurology, he pioneered
the use of MRI in studying brain biochemistry; he was the
clinician responsible for the overall conduct of the national
Institute of Neurological Disorders and the first to establish
effectiveness of thrombolysis in acute stroke; he was also the
principal investigator of a clinical trial that established
statin treatment for secondary stroke prevention; and
WHEREAS, Before his tenure at Rosalind Franklin University
of Medicine and Science, Dr. Welch was vice chancellor of
research at the University of Kansas Medical Center; therefore,
be it

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RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
congratulate Dr. K. Michael Welch on the occasion of his
retirement, thank him for his contributions to the health care
field, and wish him the best in all of his future endeavors;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to Dr. Welch as an expression of our esteem and
respect.