Gov. John Kasich announced the appointment of David R. Scholl of Athens to the Ohio University Board of Trustees. Scholl will serve a nine-year term, beginning this month through May 2021.

Scholl, a 35-year Athens resident, is a partner with Athenian Venture Partners (AVP) in its healthcare practice, initially joining the firm as a scientific consultant in 1997.

Prior to AVP, Scholl served as senior vice president of Diagnostic Hybrids, Inc. (DHI), a biotechnology diagnostic firm he helped establish with fellow Ohio University alumni in 1983. A market leader in the development and distribution of cellular and molecular diagnostic kits, DHI was purchased by Quidel Corporation in 2010 for over $130 million, with Scholl serving as senior vice president.

After completing the integration, he retired from the company in 2011.

"We are very pleased to welcome David Scholl to our Board of Trustees," said Ohio University President Roderick J. McDavis. "An alumnus, he is an outstanding example of the promise of Ohio University. We look forward to his leadership on our board and the unique perspective he will bring, especially as we focus on enriching the student experience and elevating our leadership role and efforts in the areas of technology transfer and commercialization with the state and nation."

Since DHI's inception at the Ohio University Innovation Center, Scholl was instrumental in driving the company's research and development and market adoption of numerous industry-leading commercial products. As the company chief executive officer since 1997, he built the firms manufacturing, sales and business development infrastructure developed long-term relationships with the company's hey stakeholders and raised $12.5 million in equity growth capital from Summit Partners to accelerate the company's growth.

At Athenian, Scholl has worked on a wide range of healthcare investment opportunities including biopharmaceuticals, gene delivery technology, genomics, bio-imaging technology tissue engineering and cancer therapeutics. Combined with his experience at DHI, Scholl has over 28 years of healthcare experience in venture capital, research and development and operating management.

"I am genuinely honored and humbled to be considered for this Trustee position," Scholl said. "Ohio University has strongly influenced my life, my professional career and my family in so many positive and significant ways. The opportunity to serve this exceptional University in this capacity is very special. Along with fellow Trustees, Dr. McDavis and the outstanding faculty and staff on our campuses, I look forward to supporting the bold goals of Vision Ohio and Ohio's constant educational mission to transform students and create leaders for a diverse world that functions on a global scale."

Scholl has served on the Subcommittee for Antiviral Susceptibility Testing Standards of the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Additionally, he has served on numerous state boards, including BioOhio, the Ohio Third Frontier Commission and the Ohio Business Development Coalition. A recipient of the Central Ohio Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Life Sciences, Scholl is also president of The Foundation for Ichthyosis and Related Skin Types, Inc. Scholl also serves as a trustee on the Ohio University Foundation Board.