Charles L. Welch

Charles L. Welch serves as president of the Arkansas State University (ASU) System and as one of the state’s leading advocates for higher education. He is also chair of the AASCU Board of Directors and the program coordinator for the AASCU Emerging Leaders Program.He is the youngest person to ever serve as president or chancellor of an Arkansas community college and is the youngest university president in Arkansas. During his tenure, Welch has hired new chancellors for all five of the system’s main campuses. He is co-chair of the executive council of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. He previously served as president of Henderson State University (Ark.), chancellor of the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, vice chancellor for academic affairs at ASU-Beebe, and dean of university studies at Pulaski Technical College (Ark.). A native of Jonesboro, Welch was a first-generation college student and the first member of either side of his extended family to receive a graduate degree. He received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Arkansas, a master of arts degree in political management from George Washington University, and a doctor of education degree in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.