Professor in European History and Arts - Volunteer Fire Department

Professor Yves Welles (b. 1963) is a European scholar of Arts and History from Antwerp, Belgium. Educated at the University of Leuven and Heidelberg University, he built his reputation on studies of the Renaissance and European cultural identity.

He joined Woodcrest University in 2016, where his lectures on art and history became a hallmark of the humanities program. In 2018, Welles’s wife, Claire, died tragically in a car accident in Switzerland, leaving him widowed and without children.
Following this loss, he stepped away from academia and spent several years traveling the world, exploring cultural legacies across Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

Returning to Woodcrest in 2025, Welles now brings both scholarly depth and global perspective to his teaching. His courses connect European history with wider cultural narratives, inspiring students to see art and history as living forces that shape human identity.