DR. WADE ROWATT FIRST TO OCCUPY THE FRANKLIN OWEN CHAIR OF PASTORAL STUDIES

Baptist Seminary of Kentucky is pleased to announce that Dr. Wade Rowatt has moved from part-time to full-time faculty status as Senior Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling.  Dr. Rowatt is the first professor to occupy The Franklin Owen Chair of Pastoral Studies. 

Dr. Rowatt, one of the top scholars in this field, has taught and practiced pastoral care and   counseling for over 35 years.  He holds M. Div., Th. M. and Ph. D. degrees from Southern Seminary.  For fourteen years he served as Executive Director of the St. Matthews Pastoral Counseling Center in Louisville.

At the Seminary he will continue to see that all of our students become “bi-lingual” in the Biblical/Theological and  Social Studies areas when they take the required course in Pastoral Care.  Some of our students will study more             extensively by pursuing the Concentration in Pastoral Care and Counseling as part of their Master of Divinity degree.  Dr. Rowatt and Dr. Rick Landon are jointly directing this special program of study.

The Franklin Owen Chair was established to recognize Dr. Owen who was pastor of several prominent Baptist churches, including Calvary Baptist in Lexington, Kentucky (1954-72).  He was the Executive-Secretary of the Kentucky Baptist Convention from 1972 to 1984.  Two of Dr. Owen’s sons are connected to the Seminary.  Dr. John Owen is pastor of First Baptist Church in Winchester, Kentucky, and an active supporter of the Seminary.  Bill Owen, President/CEO of the Lexington Convention Center, serves on BSK’s Board of Trustees.

While the Franklin Owen Chair is not fully funded yet, we will be able to draw some financial support from the Owen Chair endowment (being managed by the Kentucky Baptist Foundation).  We are delighted to have Dr. Rowatt on our faculty in a full-time capacity.