Robert Stephen Welch II (1944 – February 28, 2016) was an American academic and college administrator who served as dean and later as interim president of Goucher College.

Early life and education

Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Welch graduated from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

and received his Ph.D. in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where his dissertation focused on René Descartes. He completed his dissertation titled, ''Doubt, certainty and the Cartesian Circle'' under committee chairman

Fred Feldman Fred Feldman (born Newark, New Jersey, 1941) is an American philosopher who specializes in ethical theory. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught from 1969 until his retirement in 2013. ...

Career

He went on to teach at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and served as an administrator in its

University Without Walls University Without Walls (UWW) at University of Massachusetts Amherst is a department within the university which provides degree completion coursework for the undergraduate and graduate degrees, enrolled by non-traditional students. The summer s ...

program. Later an administrator at Johns Hopkins University, he joined the faculty of Goucher College in 1989. From 2000 to 2001, Welch served as interim president of Goucher College, subsequently returning to his previous role as dean of graduate studies and lecturer in philosophy at the school.

Later years and death

Welch died at the age of 71 on February 28, 2016, after suffering from cancer at his home in Baltimore, Maryland. After his death, Goucher named the Robert S. Welch Center for Graduate and Professional Studies in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welch, Robert S. Goucher College faculty and staff Brown University alumni 1944 births 2016 deaths People from Middleborough, Massachusetts University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty Presidents of Goucher College University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Humanities and Fine Arts alumni