Governor DeWine appoints Brigadier General Mark C. Arnold to OHIO Board of Trustees

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed Brigadier General Mark C. Arnold to the Ohio University Board of Trustees.

General Arnold was appointed by Gov. DeWine on June 27, 2025. His term will end May 13, 2027.

“The Board of Trustees is honored to welcome Brigadier General Arnold as a new member of the Board,” said Board Chairman Matt Evans. “General Arnold’s remarkable career in military leadership, global business and public service reflects a lifelong commitment to excellence, service and innovation. As a proud Ohio University alumnus and decorated leader, he brings a rare blend of operational expertise, strategic insight and deep connection to the University’s mission. We are grateful for his continued dedication and look forward to the impact he will make as a member of the Board.”

General Arnold was commissioned on January 28, 1982, through the Reserve Officer Training Corps as a Distinguished Military Graduate. He has more than 37 years of military service and served three combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq in special operations task forces. He currently serves as the Executive Director of a charitable organization that supports Ukraine and Director of a similar fund managed by the Columbus Foundation.

"I look forward to continuing to support Ohio University and President Gonzalez as a member of the University's Board of Trustees,” General Arnold said. “Knowledge gained as a Trustee of the Ohio University Foundation and other Boards at OU confirms my confidence in the University's executive leadership and the institution's commitment to student success."

General Arnold graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He earned his MBA at Cleveland State University and a Master’s in Strategic Studies at the U.S. Army War College. He began his military career as an enlisted soldier with five years of service in an Airborne Pathfinder Detachment. He was commissioned as an infantry officer and branch transferred to Special Forces (Green Berets) upon graduation from the Special Forces Qualification Course.

During the next 12 years, he served as Detachment Executive Officer, A-Team Commander, and Company Commander in the 11th Special Forces Group. His following key assignments include: Battalion Commander, Commander of Coalition Special Operations Forces Afghanistan, Operations and Liaison officer to special mission units Iraq, Assistant Chief of Staff of U.S. Army Special Forces Command, Brigade Commander, and Commanding General of the 100th Division.

Following his initial active-duty assignments in the 1980s, General Arnold was recruited by GE and completed its two-year Manufacturing Management Program. He was employed at GE for over 10 years, primarily in its Aircraft Engine Business. He held assignments as a process engineer, quality manager, product line program manager for airline support, and sales engineering manager for new commercial engines. He was recruited to Advanced Drainage Systems, the world’s leading plastic pipe manufacturer, where he was employed during the next 14 years as Distribution Operations Manager, Engineering Director, Vice President Government Affairs and Market Development, and Vice President and General Manager of International Operations.

General Arnold was then recruited by Lubrizol, a Fortune 500 company, where he led one of its global business units. While at Lubrizol, he was recruited to be the President and CEO of GSE Lining Technologies, a multinational manufacturing company that grew from $300 million to $500 Million with factories on every continent, and staff in all developed and almost all emerging market countries. After leading GSE to two record years in profits, he led it through an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Two years later, he was promoted to be the Commanding General of the Army’s 100th Division, and he resigned from GSE in order to finish his military career on active duty.

His military decorations include our nation’s highest award for military service, the Distinguished Service Medal. Other awards include: The Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Tab, and Ranger Tab.

He was also inducted into the Ohio University Army ROTC Hall of Fame, was awarded the Medal of Merit for achievement in business from Ohio University, inaugurated into Ohio University’s College of Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Graduates, and selected as Ohio University’s Alumnus of the Year in 2019.

General Arnold is a Trustee of Ohio University’s Foundation Board, Board member and past Board Chairman of Ohio University’s College of Engineering, former Board member and Secretary of the Army’s Retiree Council, and President of the Special Forces Association’s Ohio Chapter. He also graduated from the Ohio Fire Academy’s EMT and Firefighter courses, served in a professional department, and he is a medic and medic instructor.