Andrea Welch joined Hiram College in the fall of 2021 as the senior administrator for enrollment management and marketing. Dr. Welch has oversight of the College’s traditional and non-traditional undergraduate admissions, graduate admissions, transfer initiatives, marketing and media relations, and financial aid strategy. She also serves as a member of the president’s Cabinet.

Dr. Welch came to Hiram from Chicago State University, where she served as the vice president for enrollment management. In this role, she created and implemented a comprehensive strategic enrollment management plan that focused on the improvement of policy, operations and technology for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Office of Student Financial Aid and the Office of the Registrar. She also implemented new marketing and communication initiatives and established internal and external partnerships.

Prior to her role at Chicago State University, Dr. Welch served as the executive director of retention and student success at Valparaiso University, an independent Lutheran institution in Valparaiso, Indiana. In this role, Dr. Welch evaluated the university’s retention efforts and developed new initiatives that played a critical role in the university’s overall goals for student enrollment. Dr. Welch also served as associate vice chancellor for student affairs at Ivy Tech Community College in South Bend, Indiana. Under her leadership, the Ivy Tech South Bend campus closed the gap of enrollment loss by 11 percent.

Dr. Welch is also a frequent guest lecturer and has presented at national conferences including the Association for the Study of Higher Education, NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and the National Symposium on Student Retention.

Dr. Welch holds a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communication and a master’s degree in education from Ohio University. She also holds a doctorate in higher education leadership from Indiana State University.