THE DR. GEORGE AND ALICE WELSH TERM PROFESSORSHIP
The Dr. George and Alice Welsh Term Professorship was established in 1992 in honor of the late George Welsh, a former UNC-CH psychology professor, and his wife, Alice, a former member of the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen. The professorship was established in the College of Arts and Sciences by Burlington residents David and Rebecca Pardue, as well as other friends and colleagues of the Welshes.
The three-year professorship provides a salary stipend and a research fund for books, equipment, travel, research assistance or other expenses.
George Welsh was born in Kingston, Pa., in 1918. He earned a B.A. in psychology with a minor in English in 1940 from the University of Pennsylvania, where he later studied experimental and clinical psychology and worked as an assistant instructor. He served as a psychologist in the U.S. Army from 1943 until 1946. He earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, minoring in neuropsychology, from the University of Minnesota in 1949.
From 1949 until 1953, Welsh worked as a clinical psychologist in various capacities. He served with the Veterans Administration and the Mental Hygiene Clinic in San Francisco, as well as various hospitals and companies.
In 1953, Welsh moved to North Carolina to become a professor of psychology at the University. He was named a full professor in 1961 and worked at UNC-CH until his retirement in 1985. He specialized in personality theory, assessment and testing. Welsh also served as a visiting professor at the University of Virginia and at the University of California at Berkeley. He also was a Visiting Fulbright Professor at the University of Florence in Italy.
While at UNC-CH, Welsh served as a consultant for various state and federal government agencies, including the N.C. Department of Corrections and the U.S. Public Health Service. He has published more than 50 scholarly articles, focusing mostly on personality theory.
Welsh died in 1990.
Alice Welsh was born in Indiana. She received a B.A. from Ball State University and an M.A. from Louisiana State University.
In 1953, Alice Welsh moved to Chapel Hill with her husband and has since been actively involved with numerous civic and University activities. She served on the Chapel Hill Appearance Commission and the Chapel Hill Planning Board and was an officer at the Ackland Art Museum. In 1970, she was appointed to the Chapel Hill Board of Alderman. As a board member, she initiated programs in human rights, open space and parks initiatives, historic preservation and recycling.
Though she retired from the board in 1975, Alice Welsh continued to serve the community. She was a member of the N.C. Energy Policy Council, the board of Directors for the Association Dance Festival and the N.C. Board of Ethics. In 1983, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the N.C. Museum of Art and to the board of directors of the University Women's Club. Since 1989, she has been a member of the Foundation Board of Directors of the N.C. Museum of Art.
The Welsh professorship was created by David and Rebecca Pardue, friends of the Welshes.
David E. Pardue Jr. was born in Burlington in 1947. He received a B.S. in business administration from UNC-CH in 1969 and is a 1973 graduate of the Young Executives Institute of the School of Business. He is president of the Dacourt Group Inc., a real estate investment firm, and a member of the UNC-CH Board of Trustees.
A musician, Pardue plays tuba with the Elon College Community Orchestra and the College's Brass Quintet and has given solo tuba concerts. He also serves on the Elon College Board of Trustees. At Carolina, he is a member of the National Development Council, the Arts and Sciences Dean's Club, the Chancellors’ Club Council, the Tar Heel Network and the University's General Alumni Association. He is a trustee of the Haggai Foundation.
His wife, the former Rebecca Sharpe, is a native of Burlington. She is active in numerous community and civic projects, including fund-raising activities for UNC-CH's Arts and Sciences Foundation, the American Cancer Society and the N.C. Museum of Art. The Pardues have two children, David III (B.A. ’88) and Courtnay.
The Pardues also established The Pardue Professorship in the University's College of Arts and Sciences in 1988 and the Earl Pardue Faculty Fellowship Fund.
In 1996, history Professor Peter Coclanis was named the first recipient of The Dr. George and Alice Welsh Term Professorship. Coclanis, a specialist in U.S. economic and business history and colonial history, joined the UNC-CH faculty in 1984.
George & Alice Welsh Term Professors:
1998-99: Peter Coclanis, Department of History (7/1/96 - 6/30/99)