Bethel Announces New Special Assistant to the President

Bethel University has announced that John Addleman will be the new special assistant to the president. Addleman comes to Bethel with more than 30 years of service at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, in various roles from student life, to faculty, to administration. “John brings excellent higher education background and the ability to get things done well,” says Bethel University President Jay Barnes. “He will add value to our leadership team.” 

Barnes and Addleman first met when Addleman was an undergraduate student at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Addleman then received a Master of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Afterward, he became a resident director at Messiah College under Barnes, who was the dean of student development at the time.

After receiving a master’s in psychology and Ph.D. in human development, Addleman joined the faculty at Messiah where he taught in the psychology department for two decades. He then helped Messiah begin an online graduate program in counseling and psychology and later became the associate provost for graduate and nontraditional programs. He has also worked as a College for America Reviewer at Southern New Hampshire University.

“I am delighted to be here and to be part of the Bethel University team. I have always had a special place in my heart for Bethel and fully support the mission and values of the university,” Addleman says. “My passion has always been to help individuals to achieve their educational and personal goals, so I can't wait to be a part of that process here at Bethel.”

Addleman began his new role at Bethel on July 5.