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Colonel
Mark C. Anarumo
Permanent Professor 2016–2019
B.S., Rutgers University
M.A., Rutgers University
Ph.D., Rutgers University
Mark Anarumo, the Academy’s 98th Permanent Professor, was born in Middletown, New Jersey, in 1970. He joined the US Army in 1988 and served as an M-1 Abrams tank crewman at Ft. Hood, TX, and as a tank commander at Grafenwoehr, Germany, before his honorable discharge in 1990 to attend Air Force ROTC. In 1994 he was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Administration of Justice from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, and a commission as a Distinguished Graduate from AFROTC. A 1994 Honor Graduate of the Security Police Academy, he began his Air Force career with the 96th Security Police Squadron, Eglin AFB, FL. After a three-year assignment there, he was sent to graduate school and earned his Master’s degree from the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice in 1999. His next assignment was to HQ Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, VA, 1999–2001, where he was Deputy Chief of Force Development and later Executive Officer to the Director of Security Forces. Then followed a deployment, 2001–2002, as Operations Officer, 363rd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Prince Sultan Air Base, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, and a tour as Operations Officer, 305th Security Forces Squadron, McGuire AFB, NJ, 2002–2003, after which Mark was sent back to Rutgers to pursue his doctorate. In 2005 he was awarded his PhD in Criminal Justice, completing his dissertation on terrorist threat forecasting. He was then assigned as Commander, 43rd Security Forces Squadron, Pope AFB, NC, 2005–2007, during which time he was deployed for six months as Commander, 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan. From 2007 to 2010 Mark was the Chair of Homeland Security and Terrorism Studies at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, NJ, providing graduate-level education for military and civilian personnel from the Department of Defense and other government agencies. In 2010–2011 he was Commander, Eighth Security Forces Squadron, Kunsan Air Base, Korea. He was then sent to Harvard University, 2011–2012, as a National Security Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Next he became Chief, Programming Branch, Headquarters US Air Force, Washington, DC, 2012–2014. His final assignment before the Academy, 2014–2016, was as Vice Commander, 39th Air Base Wing, Incirlik AB, Turkey. He was responsible for the combat readiness of American units at Incirlik and four other geographically separated units in Turkey during periods of mission expansion, base attacks, dependent evacuations, and the establishment of Incirlik as the premier power projection platform for combat operations in Iraq and Syria. He is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy, US Army Pathfinder School, US Army Air Assault School, and several courses at the US Air Force Special Operations School. Mark was appointed the Permanent Professor and Director of the Center for Character and Leadership Development in 2016. The Center’s goal is to advance understanding and implementation of effective character and leadership development practices across military, academic, and athletic settings—for cadets, faculty, and staff. Mark responded to a short notice tasking and deployed to Korea from February to June 2018 in support of the United Nations PRESSURE CAMPAIGN against North Korea, directly contributing to North Korea’s participation in multi-national peace talks throughout 2018. He returned to the Center in summer 2018 and resumed the position of Director, reporting directly to the Academy Superintendent.
Update (2022): Mark Anarumo retired in 2019 and accepted the position of President of Norwich University.