UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State is grieving the loss of longtime academic and philanthropic leader Susan Welch, professor of political science and former dean of the College of the Liberal Arts, who passed away on Monday, March 28.

“Susan was a role model, pioneer, visionary and incredible leader who helped make Penn State into the world-class university it is today,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “Her legacy is felt in countless ways — through outstanding academic programs, a robust research operation, a dramatic increase in student scholarships, investments in new centers and institutes, and an all-encompassing commitment to the importance of a liberal arts education. We are fortunate Susan devoted her time and talents to Penn State for so long, and she will be greatly missed.”

Welch was born Oct. 3, 1943, in Galesburg, Illinois, to Delbert and Marie (nee Satterfield) Welch and grew up in nearby Bushnell. She enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1961 with the intent of majoring in mathematics. She also enjoyed history, however, and continued to study it during her first three years at the University of Illinois. Her instructors at Illinois nurtured that interest in history to the point that she changed her major at the beginning of her senior year. She later changed disciplines again, this time to political science, and eventually earned her doctorate in political science from the University of Illinois in 1970.

Welch became an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nebraska after graduation, embarking on a more than 50-year career where she established herself as one of the foremost political science scholars of her generation. She wrote more than 170 peer-reviewed articles and authored or co-authored eight books — including her renowned “Understanding American Government,” a three-time winner of the American Government Textbook Award from the Women’s Caucus for Political Science and currently in its 14th edition. Her published works have been cited more than 11,000 times, and her article “The Impact of Gender on Activities and Priorities of State Legislators,” co-written with Sue Thomas for Western Political Quarterly in 1991, is the most cited work on women in politics and considered a breakthrough in the study of women's potential political behaviors.

“Susan Welch was one of the pioneers in the field of gender and politics; her work on women in legislatures and voters actually inspired me to study women as a graduate student as well,” said Lee Ann Banaszak, professor and head of the Penn State Department of Political Science. “Her research made similarly fundamental contributions to the study of race and ethnicity, legislatures, urban politics, and public opinion and mass behavior.

“Susan continued to make important research contributions throughout her years as dean, working with and inspiring both undergraduate and graduate students. She was always a central presence at political science meetings as well, presenting her new research and meeting with and mentoring generations of scholars. The discipline has lost a great political scientist; she will be sorely missed.”

It was at Nebraska that Welch began to forge her storied career in academic administration, where she spent eight years as head of the Department of Political Science and served on a host of college/university committees, including the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women and the executive committees of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate College.

Welch began her tenure as dean of the Penn State College of the Liberal Arts in 1991 — one of only a few women nationwide at the time, and one of only a handful of women at that point in Penn State history, to hold the title of dean. By the time she stepped aside to rejoin the faculty in 2019, she had helped transform the college into one of the leading public liberal arts institutions in the country. Foremost among the college’s accomplishments during her 28-year tenure:

• When Welch began in 1991, the college only had 50 endowed scholarships that offered approximately $70,000 per year in scholarships to less than 100 students. By the time she stepped aside, the college had more than 625 endowments offering nearly $4 million per year to 1,200 undergraduates and another $1 million per year to nearly 300 graduate students.
• At the time of her hire, the college had approximately 10 named professorships. By 2019, the college boasted 50 named professorships, two named directorships, and one named dean’s chair.
• When Welch arrived in 1991, none of the college’s academic programs ranked in the upper half of the Big Ten rankings, let alone nationally. By the time she stepped aside, the National Research Council had ranked six of the college’s degree programs — anthropology, communication arts and sciences, English, political science, sociology and Spanish — among the top 10 in in their respective disciplines.
• Welch played an integral role in establishing and expanding the college’s involvement in Penn State World Campus. Interdisciplinary research centers such as the Richards Civil War Era Center, the Rock Ethics Institute, the Child Study Center, and the McCourtney Institute for Democracy were created during Welch’s tenure and have grown to become centers of academic excellence and national significance.
• The college’s Paterno Fellows Program (its undergraduate honors program) and Career Enrichment Network also were created during her tenure.

“It has been an honor to follow in Susan’s footsteps and build upon the foundation she helped establish during her tenure as dean,” said Clarence Lang, who has served as Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts since 2019. “I will always be grateful for the guidance she offered to help me transition to this role, and I will always value her perspective that no public research university could ever rank itself among the nation’s greatest without having a great college of liberal arts as its heart.”

Welch and her husband, the late Alan Booth — one of the foremost sociologists of his generation — also were noteworthy philanthropists, having established nearly $3 million in endowments benefiting Penn State and the College of the Liberal Arts alone.

Twenty-four funds have been established by others at Penn State to honor Welch’s service to the University and college. In recognition of the transformational gift made in December 2021 by Gene and Roz Chaiken that made them the largest scholarship donors in University history, the Penn State Board of Trustees earlier this year voted unanimously to name the college’s soon-to-be-constructed building the Susan Welch Liberal Arts Building.

“Susan understood the influential role philanthropy could play in advancing her vision for the liberal arts at Penn State, and she set a powerful and compelling example through her own generosity and through her engagement with thousands of donors — alumni and friends alike — in ensuring that vision was realized through philanthropy,” said O. Richard Bundy III, Penn State vice president for development and alumni relations. “She was a leader in every sense of the word, and her impact at Penn State will be felt for generations to come.”

Welch had many interests, including sports and Penn State women's volleyball in particular, where she was an avid fan and a designated honorary coach. She also was very active in several national professional service organizations, having held several offices in the American Political Science Association and serving as president of the Midwest Political Science Association.

The family will have a private gathering to celebrate Welch’s life. The College of the Liberal Arts also plans to host a campus celebration honoring her in the near future; additional information will be shared once plans are finalized. Individuals wishing to do so can make gifts in Welch’s memory to the Dean Susan Welch Centennial Graduate Endowment, the Delbert F. and Marie S. Welch Graduate Student Award, or the Chaiken Family Trustee Scholarship in College of the Liberal Arts.