Arne has had a multi-faceted career. He began his professional life as a musician and earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in violin performance from SUNY Buffalo. Changing careers, he served as an IT administrator at three universities as well as Dean of Libraries at two universities. His final position before retirement was Vice President of Information Management and Decision Support and Dean of the Library at Lamar University. In addition to his music degrees, he holds a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Information Science from the University of North Texas.

Arne has long sought to serve the community, both within Rotary and professionally. At Northern Kentucky University (NKU), a regional university in the Cincinnati metro area, he created an online bachelor’s degree in information science and then built separate inter-agency partnerships within Kentucky and West Virginia to apply the program to improve public library services in the poorest counties of the two states. Over a period of six years, funded in part by federal government grants totaling just under $2 million, the bachelor’s program and additional treatments improved the skills of library workers in each state. They, in turn, increased the quality of library services, better supporting local P-12 education. Program graduates experienced increased career opportunities.

In addition, he has been an active member of Rotary since 2002, serving as President of the Rotary Club of Cincinnati during the Club’s Centennial year (2010). Expecting to become a district governor, he resigned from that planned role when he accepted the position at Lamar University in 2018.

Arne and his wife of 43 years, Sharon, have two adult daughters: Erica, who is Marketing Coordinator for DBL Law in Covington, Kentucky; and Major Inga Almquist-Todaro, currently serving as an instructor pilot in the U.S. Air Force.