Welch, Sharon D.: - Sharon Welch is a social ethicist who currently serves as Provost and Professor of Religion and Society at the Unitarian Universalist theological school in Chicago, Meadville Lombard. She has held positions as Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri from 1991-2007. She was assistant and then associate professor of Theology and Religion and Society at Harvard Divinity School from 1982 to 1991. Welch is currently a member of the Social Enterprise Alliance, the Unitarian Universalist Peace Ministry Network, and a Fellow of the Institute for Humanist Studies. In her work as Provost, Welch has led in the development of a contextual model of theological education that is grounded in deep immersion in both the social and natural worlds that surround us and sustain us. Welch is the author of five books and numerous articles in the field of social ethics. She is the recipient of numerous awards, many of which recognize her excellence in teaching. Among these are the Internationalizing the Curriculum Course Development Award (2002) and the College of Education, High Flyer Teaching Award (several years). She also received the Annual Gustavus Myers Award: Honorable Mention for her 1999 book, Sweet Dreams in America: Making Ethics and Spirituality Work (Routledge). She was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology by Starr King School of the Ministry in May 2007.