Political Quotes

“it didn't feel historic at the time for Harvey Welch, but it was. Harvey, a native of Centralia, IL, came to Southern Illinois University Carbondale on a basketball scholarship and became the first Black student at the university to letter in basketball in 1951. He achieved this 3 years before the Brown v. Board ruling found school segregation unconstitutional. Harvey played basketball at SIU from 1951 to 1954. He also was the first Black student to complete the ROTC program at the university. When he finished college, he joined the U.S. Air Force and was one of the first three Black officers to be promoted to lieutenant colonel. Never forgetting SIU, Harvey came back to Carbondale after he retired from the Air Force in 1975. He became the first Black dean of student life at SIU and served as vice chancellor of student affairs from 1987 to 2000. In addition to SIU, Harvey continued serving his community through the Carbondale Park District, Rotary International, and Southern Illinois Regional Social Services. His work earned him the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award in 2007. SIU recognized with the Distinguished Service Award during commencement in 2018. For 22 years, students benefited not only from his leadership and wisdom, but from the Harvey and Trish Welch Scholarship Fund too. Harvey helped define what it meant to be a Saluki. He loved hunting and golf, but his commitment to SIU and his family came first.…”