Leo Welch, 1938 – 2023

Leo Welch, the president of the Illinois conference of the AAUP, died on July 19 at the age of 83. Leo was a passionate national advocate for labor rights, academic freedom, and higher education funding. He taught biology for more than 45 years at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, which in 1967 became the first union chapter to affiliate with the AAUP (without telling the national AAUP). In 1971, the AAUP finally followed the lead of Southwestern by allowing union affiliates, which made Leo one of the AAUP’s longest-serving unionized members. In 1980, Southwestern held one of the first strikes by an AAUP chapter, a successful three-week walkout after the administration attempted to eliminate the union.
 
Leo was a member of the Southwestern Illinois Labor Council and the Illinois State Museum board, and served in leadership roles for the Illinois Community College Faculty Association, State University Annuitants Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, and as president of the Southwestern Illinois Faculty Union.
 
Leo was also former chair of the Eastern Illinois University Board of Trustees, perhaps the only AAUP leader ever to simultaneously serve as the head of a campus board of trustees.
 
Leo had several stints as president of the Illinois AAUP conference, helping to stabilize the organization. When he wasn’t president, Leo usually served as head of government relations, acting as the chief lobbyist for AAUP members in Springfield, and writing regular legislative updates to alert AAUP members. He fiercely opposed “the death spiral in public higher education” launched by Gov. Bruce Rauner in Illinois, and other efforts to defund public colleges. Leo spoke out for the importance of public colleges, including community colleges, and the need to compensate faculty fairly and protect their right to organize. Linda Brookhart, Executive Director of the State Universities Annuitants Association, said: “Leo was like a best friend. I could always count on Leo for whatever I needed.”
 
Leo was a passionate defender of shared governance and academic freedom, frequently speaking on these topics to educate AAUP chapters and the public. When Alan Dershowitz successfully crusaded to have DePaul University deny tenure to Norman Finkelstein for criticizing Dershowitz, and the national AAUP failed to respond adequately, as president of the Illinois AAUP, Leo wrote to DePaul expressing outrage about the violation of academic freedom.
 
As a champion of academia, academic freedom, and the AAUP, Leo will be remembered for his commitment to the academic labor movement and his strong principles supporting higher education.