Arne R. Flaten, professor of art history and chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Coastal Carolina University, has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA). He is the first professor in CCU's history, and the first in the state of South Carolina, to receive this distinction.

Flaten graduated from St. Olaf College in Minnesota with a double major in art studio and English literature, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. After teaching in Israel and Rwanda, he earned his master's and doctorate degrees in art history from Indiana University at Bloomington. Flaten's research has been supported by the Fulbright Commission; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Samuel H. Kress Foundation; the J. Paul Getty Research Institute; and the Renaissance Society of America.

Flaten was the HTC Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Lecturer at Coastal Carolina University in 2013, as well as the commencement speaker for CCU's 2014 summer graduation. He joined CCU's faculty in 2003.

Based in Salzburg, Austria, the European Academy of Sciences and Arts is an interdisciplinary network of scholars from various fields who focus on scientific, social, cultural and ethical issues concerning Europe and the world. The Academy focuses on three core areas: developing knowledge, disseminating scientific information and implementing major multinational projects. Members are nominated by a committee and elected by the Senate of the Academy.