Sept. 18, 2002

Contact: Kevin Boatright, University Relations, (785) 864-7100; Nancy Garn, Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, (847) 578-3242.

KUMC vice chancellor named president of Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- K. Michael Welch, vice chancellor for research at the University of Kansas Medical Center and president of the KUMC Research Institute Inc., has been named president of Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, effective at the end of November.

The announcement was made today by Finch/CMS board chair Marshall Falk. "We feel extremely fortunate Mike Welch accepted our offer," said Falk. "In addition to his broad expertise in health care, education and research and as a clinician, he has had remarkable success in securing funds and grants for the University of Kansas. We feel Dr. Welch possesses the qualities and expertise to now propel us further."

Welch, a neurologist and scientist internationally known for his research on brain function in cerebrovascular disease and migraine, will succeed Richard Hawkins as president of the 1,600-student institution. Finch/CMS is located on a 90-acre campus in North Chicago and consists of the Chicago Medical School, the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the School of Related Health Sciences and the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine.

KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway congratulated Welch on the appointment, while expressing regret about the loss of what he called "a key figure in the recent growth of research at KUMC." Welch served as KU's scientific liaison with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, the Midwest Research Institute and Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, and he was a leader in the life sciences initiative now under way in the Kansas City region.

"At the legislative Research Day in Manhattan last January," said Hemenway, "Mike was an able and articulate spokesperson for KU. The outcome of that event was a multi-campus initiative that resulted in passage of a $120 million bonding bill for research facilities in Kansas."

KUMC Executive Vice Chancellor Don Hagen said he was happy for Welch but disappointed to be losing him as a colleague. "Mike brought a bold vision of what KUMC is capable of doing in the area of research and technology transfer, and he's a great communicator," he said. Hagen pointed to the Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, scheduled for completion next spring, and the planned Biomedical Research Center as examples of the way research work is reshaping KUMC.

"Research is an important part of our mission," said Hagen. "Mike's legacy will be the people, facilities and processes he helped put in place, all of which will grow and flourish under new leadership even after he's gone."

Welch came to KUMC in 1998 as senior associate dean of research and graduate studies in the School of Medicine. He assumed his present position in 1999. He received his M.D. degree from the University of Bristol School of Medicine in the United Kingdom and came to the United States in the early 1970s. He held several positions at the Baylor University College of Medicine, including chief of neurology at the Ben Taub Hospital, before moving to Michigan in 1983 to become founding chair of the Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital. Later, as vice president for academic affairs at HFH, he founded the Health Sciences Center and was an integral part of negotiations that culminated in its academic affiliation with Case Western Reserve University.

Also at HFH, 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 first study to establish the effectiveness of thrombolysis ("clot busting") in acute stroke. Welch also is a founding member and past president of the International Headache Society.

"KUMC is poised for a new level in research and technology transfer, and I'm privileged to have been part of that," Welch said. "I feel as though I've achieved some important things during my four years here and am looking forward to a tremendously exciting challenge as president of Finch/CMS."

The Chicago Medical School was established in 1912 and became fully accredited in 1948. From 1930 to 1980, CMS was located just west of downtown Chicago, in one of the world's largest concentrations of medical facilities. In 1967, the University of Health Sciences was created, consisting of CMS, the School of Related Health Sciences, and the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. In 1980, the institution moved 40 miles north to its present location, adjacent to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. The university was renamed in 1993 in honor of its longtime CEO and board chair, Herman Finch. More information about Finch/CMS is available at www.finchcms.edu/.