SILOAM SPRINGS, Arkansas (March 20, 2026) - John Brown University has named Gentry Turk, Ph.D., the university's executive director of Community Counseling Clinics, effective January 1, 2026.

Turk will oversee JBU's Graduate Counseling program's applied, clinical training at on-site Community Counseling Centers on JBU's main campus and in Little Rock. In this role, Turk plans the curriculum for and manages the provision of high-quality, well-supervised counseling services to the local community by our practicum students.

"We are deeply excited that Dr. Gentry Turk has accepted the role of executive clinical director of our clinics," said Emily Moore, dean of the College of Education and Social and Behavioral Sciences at JBU. "She's an experienced clinician and excellent counselor. Just as significantly, she is a wonderful teacher who will be able to balance coordinating our graduate students' clinical training while ensuring that JBU's clinic provides the highest-quality clinical care to members of the Northwest Arkansas community. Gentry is wise, compassionate and direct. We are deeply grateful to have her."

Turk discovered her calling to counseling during an undergraduate internship in the counseling department at Focus on the Family, leading her to pursue a master's in counseling at Denver Seminary. After graduating, she focused on addiction counseling in community mental health, then co-founded a Christian private practice in Lakewood, Washington. To deepen her clinical expertise and invest in training future counselors, she completed a doctorate in counselor education and supervision at Denver Seminary, where she discovered her love for teaching future counselors. In June 2025, she was hired as a professor in JBU's Graduate Counseling program.

"As executive clinic director, I am excited to support our community through the meaningful work of counseling," Turk said. "The Community Counseling Clinic at John Brown University offers opportunities for people to experience hope and healing by engaging the impactful care of our counselors-in-training. By combining my previous experience as a clinician, supervisor and now educator, I look forward to developing unique programs and opportunities within our clinic to enhance the care provided to our community."

Turk is dedicated to cultivating a thriving counseling practice environment that challenges students to grow as clinicians. She is also committed to providing high-quality, low-cost counseling to Siloam Springs and the broader Northwest Arkansas region.

John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas' top-ranked regional university (U.S. News) and No. 2 private university (The Wall Street Journal), JBU enrolls more than 2,500 students from 34 states and 43 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online and concurrent education programs. JBU offers over 50 undergraduate majors, with top programs including business, nursing, visual arts, engineering, teacher education, psychology, computer science, construction management, graphic design, family and human services, and engineering. Twelve graduate degrees are available in business, counseling and cybersecurity.

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