Adonijah S.
Welch
Adonijah Strong Welch was born April 12,
1821 in East Hampton, Connecticut. He received the B.A. (1846) and M.A. (1852)
from the University of Michigan. Dr. Welch became the first principal
(1852-1865) of the Michigan State Normal School (Eastern Michigan University).
In 1865, he moved to Florida and became involved in the orange and lumber
industries. Dr. Welch was serving as United States Senator from Florida
(1868-1869) when he accepted the position of President (1869-1883) of the newly
established Iowa State Agricultural College (Iowa State University).
Dr. Welch was serving as President of Iowa State Agricultural College when he
was asked by the United States Commissioner of Agriculture to investigate and
report on the organization and management of agricultural schools in Europe.
While in Europe, Dr. Welch’s opponents who were unsatisfied with the college’s
development sought to remove him from office. This effort led to Welch’s
resignation as president of Iowa State in 1883. Dr. Welch returned to Europe a
second time to recover his health and on returning to Iowa State in 1884
accepted the chair of history of civilization and practical psychology. He
continued to teach at Iowa State until his death in 1889.
Dr. Welch is credited for a number of successes during his tenure as president,
though his most lasting legacy may be the design of Iowa State’s early campus.
Dr. Welch helped develop Iowa State’s first courses in agriculture and
mechanical arts and supported the right of women to receive a college education.
Dr. Welch was often asked to address farmers’ gatherings, horticultural
meetings, and breeders’ conventions. His wife, Mary Welch, established the first
courses in the domestic sciences, which would later become the College of Family
and Consumer Sciences.
Dr. Welch married Eunice P. Buckingham in 1859 and had three children with her
before her death in 1867. He later married Mary Beaumont Dudley in 1868. They
had two children. Dr. Welch died on March 13, 1889, in Pasadena, California.
