JBU Center for Healthy Relationships Appoints New Executive Director
SILOAM SPRINGS, Arkansas (June 7, 2022) – John Brown University announced today the appointment of Rosemary Flaaten as executive director of the university’s Center for Healthy Relationships (CHR).
Flaaten, who begins her role Sept. 26, has spent two decades helping people build healthy marriages and interpersonal relationships through pastoral, teaching and consultancy work with churches, colleges and universities, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
An international speaker on the topics of healthy relationships, marriage, spiritual formation, pastoral approaches, leadership development, sexuality and cultural issues, Flaaten has ministered in Haiti, India, South Africa, Mali, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S.
“I am grateful and excited that Rosemary Flaaten will be the new executive director,” JBU President Chip Pollard said. “She has written books and spoken around the world about the importance of a biblical-informed understanding and practice of healthy relationships. She has also led workshops for a wide variety of audiences – including couples, singles, students and women’s groups on how to live out these values in day-to-day life. Rosemary will bring vision, energy and a deep love of Christ to her leadership of CHR. We look forward to her joining JBU.”
Since 2012, Flaaten has held adjunct faculty roles at a variety of institutions including Ambrose University, Alberta Bible College, Rocky Mountain College and Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute. While teaching classes in spiritual formation, biblical leadership, the practice of prayer and healthy sexuality, Flaaten has mentored and counseled students and spoken in chapel services.
“I am so excited to be moving to Northwest Arkansas to join the team at CHR,” says Flaaten. “It is an honor to be selected to build on its strong heritage and take the Center to the next stage of servicing JBU, NWA and beyond. I see the Center as a hub where everyone in the community has access to biblically-based resources that will help them build strong and healthy relationships. Whether it is thriving as a single person, developing robust marriages that can flourish at every stage or cultivating families that are full of grace and love, my vision is that the CHR will make a difference in God’s kingdom through each person we impact. I look forward to serving God through the CHR in this community.”
Flaaten is completing a Doctor of Ministry from Denver Seminary and holds a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling from American Christian College & Seminary and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Calgary. She is a member of the Christian Pastoral Caregivers Association and a licensed minister with the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada.
Flaaten has been published in a variety of mediums. Her first book, “A Woman and Her Relationships: Transforming the Way We Connect,” won a Word Guild Award and is a Canadian bestseller while her second, “A Woman and Her Workplace”, went on to be published in Spanish as “La Mujer en su Lugar de Trabajo”.
Flaaten and her husband Norlee have three adult children. They are looking forward to enjoying all that NWA has to offer, especially building new friendships and the outdoor pursuits of cycling, kayaking and hiking.
The Center for Healthy Relationships was founded in 1998 by Gary Oliver, Ph.D., to educate, equip and enrich people for developing healthy relationships through consulting, education, enrichment, resources, research and assessment. CHR serves college students, churches and the public with its relationship skills services that are directed toward singleness, marriage preparation, marriage enrichment and family and parenting skills. Oliver, who has served as executive director since its inception, is exiting the role but will continue to serve JBU as the Dr. Gary J. Oliver Endowed Chair.
John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas’ top-ranked university (The Wall Street Journal) and top-ranked regional university (U.S. News), JBU enrolls more than 2,200 students from 37 states and 48 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online and concurrent education programs. JBU offers more than 40 undergraduate majors, with top programs including nursing, psychology, kinesiology, engineering, biology, family and human services, and graphic design. Eighteen graduate programs are available in business, counseling, cybersecurity, education and higher education.
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