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Rev. Dr. John C. Welch, MDiv, PhD
Rev. Dr. John C. Welch comes with a wide variety of experience in corporate, ecclesial, and higher education environments. Most recently, John spent almost 14-years as Vice President for Student Services, Community Engagement and Dean of Students at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary where he oversaw the administration of over $1 million in annual student grants and scholarships with a less than 2% cohort default rate and assisted in the municipality’s approval of a 10-year campus master plan through community engagement and established political partnerships.
In the area of campus climate, John was responsible for Title IX compliance and the assurance of a safe educational and work environment with existing policies, procedures through trainings that included anti-discrimination, diversity, and inclusion training thereby ensuring a safe educational and work environment. Pastorally, John created and managed a team of seminary personnel that offered a broad network of care and crisis management for students, consistently resulting in an over 90% student retention rate. Regarding cultural awareness, John led seminary students in cross-cultural, socio-political engagement opportunities in the Caribbean, Mexico, Colombia, and South Africa with the hope of expanding student global awareness and improve cultural competence.
Beyond this work, John recently completed a 5-year strategic business plan for a faith-based nonprofit, conducted seminars and trainings to church leaders, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in the areas of ethics, burnout, moral distress, long term care, implicit bias, and institutional racism.
John has served as an adjunct professor of Business Ethics at the University of
Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business and the University of Pittsburgh’s Consortium Ethics Program as well as an adjunct professor of Theology at Carlow University. Currently, he sits on the Ethics Committees for major health networks and has offered his expertise in response to Covid-19 infections by designing engagement strategies to low-income communities of color and other marginalized populations including immigrants and LGBTQ, addressing vaccination hesitancy and community spread.
Furthermore, John has led several nonprofit boards and currently is Chair of the Board of Directors for the Gamaliel Network, an international organization specializing in faith-based community organizing. Additionally, John has over 22-years of experience as a consultant in the field of Information Technology, 27-years in ordained ministry serving Presbyterian and Baptist congregations.
A native of Pittsburgh, John holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering & Economics, a Master of Divinity degree, and a PhD in Healthcare Ethics.