In the nursing profession, we often tell our nursing students that in order to be an excellent nurse, one must have "HHH- Head, Hands, and Heart". Dr. Rose Welch has not only demonstrated the basic HHH quality, but also offered to our profession and nursing students much more.
HEAD: After earning her ADN and Bachelor 's degree in early 1970s, Dr. Welch decided to continue her education and obtained a Master 's degree in Nursing from University of California, Los Angeles in 1977. One could have been satisfied with the master 's level. However, that would not be Rose.  In 1990, Rose entered into an Ed. D program at Pepperdine University and earned her doctorate degree in 1994.  In her years working as a faculty member, she has received over 10 funded grants (intramural and extramural grants combined).  
HANDS: After obtaining her RN license, Dr. Welch started using her competent hands to provide nursing care to the patients in Medical/Surgical and Intensive Care Units for 8 years and becoming the manager of the area. She then decided to be a guiding hand for nursing students. Dr. Welch has taught various courses in both BSN and MSN programs for over 15 years.  Then, to become a helping hand for student success in different capacities, Dr. Welch started to work in various administrative roles (e.g., MSN coordinator, Chair, Acting Director of School of Nursing). At present, Dr. Welch ' hands are already full with her duties as an Associate Director. However, she still diligently advises our MSN Pathway and Nurse Administrator Role Option students. In addition, with her skills and experiences in nursing education and administration, she has become a "go to" person for many of us. The knowledge and experience she shares with those of us who follow her is invaluable. If we, faculty, do not know the answer or history of such issues, the first thing we often do is "ask Rose." As for nursing community, Dr. Welch has been one of long term leaders of Xi Theta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, serving as the chapter representative to the annual Odyssey research conference.
HEART:  Without the heart of service, no one can last long in the nursing career path. Dr. Welch 's service years of service attest to the overwhelming passion she has to serve nursing at large and the CSUDH SON in particular.  Currently, Dr. Welch works as a FERPer (Faculty Early Retirement Program). While she is obligated to work 2 days/week, her presence on campus and committees could make one assume that she still worked fulltime.  Her continuous quality of work and input in various committees (e.g. College Retention, Tenure, and Promotion committee, search committees, BSN curriculum revision taskforce) not only show her ability to handle complicated tasks, but also her heart to improve quality of our nursing programs. Furthermore, her heart is not only for her students, but her faculty colleagues who are in need. One of various instances that touched a faculty 's heart was that, at 9 PM in the middle of nowhere, Rose still picked up the phone call to guide her on a grant application.
We could have go on and on about Dr. Welch and her dedication to nursing education, but in sum, Dr. Welch is one of a kind and we want to thank Rose for all she has done.