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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Dr. K. Michael Welch on | ||||||
4 | the occasion of his retirement as President and CEO of Rosalind | ||||||
5 | Franklin University of Medicine and Science; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Dr. Welch assumed the presidency of Rosalind | ||||||
7 | Franklin University of Medicine and Science in 2002; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Since becoming President of Rosalind Franklin | ||||||
9 | University, Dr. Welch renamed the University and successfully | ||||||
10 | implemented a full institutional assessment that launched a new | ||||||
11 | mission and vision for the school, integrating the education of | ||||||
12 | all health professions with the goal of enhanced delivery of | ||||||
13 | health care into a model of interprofessional education; he | ||||||
14 | oversaw a new era of investment in infrastructure and | ||||||
15 | initiatives that launched a renaissance in education, clinical | ||||||
16 | care, and discovery; he led the rebuilding of the Board of | ||||||
17 | Trustees upon foundational principles of communication, | ||||||
18 | ownership, and accountability and the election of | ||||||
19 | highly-regarded professionals who restored confidence in the | ||||||
20 | governing body; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Dr. Welch concentrated on community engagement | ||||||
22 | and service via the Community Care Connection mobile health |
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1 | coach, health screening and education, and mentoring outreach | ||||||
2 | by students and faculty and the student-driven | ||||||
3 | Interprofessional Community Clinic; he also focused on health | ||||||
4 | equity and diversifying the healthcare workforce as a means to | ||||||
5 | improving the health of underserved populations; additionally, | ||||||
6 | he led the initiative on building community and clinical | ||||||
7 | partnerships in the quest for improved health and well being; | ||||||
8 | and
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9 | WHEREAS, Dr. Welch supported the development of pipelines | ||||||
10 | and pathways, including the nationally recognized INSPIRE | ||||||
11 | program, the Pre-Matriculation Program, and many other efforts | ||||||
12 | to diversify STEM fields and improve care; he oversaw the | ||||||
13 | construction of new buildings and facilities, including | ||||||
14 | student housing, the Gross Anatomy Lab, the Evaluation Center, | ||||||
15 | a new research wing/BSB, the Morningstar Interprofessional | ||||||
16 | Education Center, the Rothstein Warden Centennial Learning | ||||||
17 | Center, and, opening next summer, the Innovation and Research | ||||||
18 | Park; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Dr. Welch championed key investments in | ||||||
20 | simulation technology, which offers students and working | ||||||
21 | health professionals and their institutions training to | ||||||
22 | improve diagnosis and safety; he led the establishment of think | ||||||
23 | tanks for research and advocacy; he supported the establishment | ||||||
24 | of the nationally-recognized Center for Lower Extremity |
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1 | Ambulatory Research at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of | ||||||
2 | Podiatric Medicine and the Master Teacher Guild; in 2012, he | ||||||
3 | led the successful Centennial Celebration and Scholarship | ||||||
4 | Campaign; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Welch earned his medical degree at the | ||||||
6 | University of Bristol School of Medicine, United Kingdom and | ||||||
7 | came to the United States in the early 1970s; a neurologist and | ||||||
8 | internationally recognized researcher and expert in brain | ||||||
9 | function and structure in cerebrovascular disease, stroke, and | ||||||
10 | migraine, he is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians; | ||||||
11 | his career has included appointments in England, Australia, and | ||||||
12 | the United States, the latter including Baylor College of | ||||||
13 | Medicine in Houston and Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where, | ||||||
14 | as founding chair of the Department of Neurology, he pioneered | ||||||
15 | the use of MRI in studying brain biochemistry; he was the | ||||||
16 | clinician responsible for the overall conduct of the national | ||||||
17 | Institute of Neurological Disorders and the first to establish | ||||||
18 | effectiveness of thrombolysis in acute stroke; he was also the | ||||||
19 | principal investigator of a clinical trial that established | ||||||
20 | statin treatment for secondary stroke prevention; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Before his tenure at Rosalind Franklin University | ||||||
22 | of Medicine and Science, Dr. Welch was vice chancellor of | ||||||
23 | research at the University of Kansas Medical Center; therefore, | ||||||
24 | be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
3 | congratulate Dr. K. Michael Welch on the occasion of his | ||||||
4 | retirement, thank him for his contributions to the health care | ||||||
5 | field, and wish him the best in all of his future endeavors; | ||||||
6 | and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
8 | presented to Dr. Welch as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
9 | respect.
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