Professor Welch said she is ‘proud to be the first woman to lead such an outstanding institution’ and is excited to meet staff and students as well as getting to know the city and its communities.
She brings a wealth of experience, having previously served as Senior Vice President (Service, People & Planning) and Provost (Arts & Sciences) at King’s College London and as its Interim President in 2021.
Prior to King's, she held senior leadership roles at the University of Sussex (Pro Vice-Chancellor for Teaching & Learning) and Queen Mary, University of London (Dean, Arts and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research & International).
Professor Welch, who is originally from New York City in the United States, studied Renaissance History and Literature at Harvard University before gaining a PhD from The Warburg Institute in London.
She has led a range of major interdisciplinary research programmes throughout her career and in 2013 was awarded an MBE for services to higher education and the creative economy.
She takes over from Professor Hugh Brady, who was Vice-Chancellor and President at Bristol between September 2015 and July 2022.
Professor Welch said: “I’m excited to begin my tenure as Vice-Chancellor at Bristol and can’t wait to get to know the University, its staff and students as well as the broader Bristol community over the coming months.
“Together, we have a unique ability to create solutions for global problems in an urban environment that’s small enough to be manageable, but complex enough to really make a difference in the here and now. Bristol can be a real model for our global future.”
Professor Welch, who becomes Bristol’s 14th Vice-Chancellor, says her priority for the first six months is to listen to staff, students and the city’s local communities.
She added: “I know that the past few years have been tough and that the next year looks challenging in terms of inflation and the cost-of-living. As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to come together as a community. We have a major opportunity to bring our research, education and civic environment together to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, whether that is health inequalities, global warming or the ethics of Artificial Intelligence.”
Professor Welch’s appointment follows a global search, overseen by the Chair of the University's Board of Trustees, Jack Boyer OBE.
Mr Boyer said: “We are delighted to welcome Professor Welch to the University of Bristol as our first female Vice-Chancellor. She brings a track record of successful administrative and academic leadership and is well placed to lead our university into the post-Brexit, post-pandemic world.
“She will bring new insights and perspectives to the strategic leadership of the University, building on Bristol's outstanding teaching and research, and guiding us towards achieving the institution’s growth ambitions, including the Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus."