Claude E. Welch Jr.

Claude Emerson Welch Jr., State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo (UB) Professor of Political Science and SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, was born on 12 June 1939 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Dr. Claude E. Welch, Sr., and Phyllis Paton Welch. The younger Welch "had the values of hard work and respect for others instilled him from an early age." His father worked his way through Harvard Medical School and served as a front-line surgeon in World War II. In his medical career, he became "a fixture at Massachusetts General Hospital for more than 40 years, was an innovative surgeon, a tireless worker, prolific researcher and an advocate of building strong ties with his patients, themes that would come to be synonymous with his...son."

Welch had four children with his late wife Nancy, who died in 1979. His son is Chris Welch, and his three daughters are Sarah Welch, Martha Dyer, and the late Elisabeth Ann (Lisa) Welch, who died in an alpine accident in September 2017. The Welch family maintains a camp on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. In May 2020, Welch moved to Auburndale, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.

In 1981, Welch married Jeannette Marie Ludwig (September 29, 1949 – July 29, 2018), who was also a professor at UB. Welch and Ludwig divided their time between their homes in Amherst and the Chautauqua Institution. They donated their home to the [https://chq.org/chautauqua-foundation Chautauqua Foundation] and are members of the [https://giftplanning.chq.org/legacy-society Eleanor B. Daugherty Society].

Welch's scope of interest extends globally. He and Ludwig traveled to more than 25 countries on five continents. They became avid photographers, and their collection of more than 2000 images, complete with detailed descriptions, is preserved in the digital collection of the University at Buffalo Libraries. Based on these images, the library maintains an exhibition titled ''Wayfarers: Selected Images from the Welch-Ludwig Collection'' [https://digital.lib.buffalo.edu/collection/PSC001]. Welch and Ludwig also created a scholarship for students studying abroad, the [http://www.buffalo.edu/studyabroad/projects/financialplanning/scholarships/Welch-LudwigScholarship.html Welch-Ludwig Fund for International Study]. Provided by Wikipedia