OHIO community invited to hear from national experts at April 16-17 Baker Peace Conference

Ohio University’s Contemporary History Institute will host the 2026 Baker Peace Conference, themed “The State of American Power,” on April 16–17.

All students, faculty, staff and community members are invited this year’s Baker Peace Conference events.

This year’s Baker Peace Conference examines the state of American power. In what ways is American influence in the world changing? How should we assess U.S. strength? How healthy are key aspects of American soft power, such as the country’s systems of higher education and democratic governance? These and other questions will be addressed by the conference’s nine speakers, who come from a range of academic, journalistic, military and diplomatic backgrounds.

The conference will begin on the evening of Thursday, April 16, with a keynote address in Schoonover 145 delivered by retired brigadier general and business executive, Mark Arnold.

On Friday, April 17, the conference will have two panels in Alden Library, a domestic-focused one in the morning from 10 a.m. until noon and a foreign-focused session in the afternoon from 3-5 p.m. Each panel will have four 25-minute talks followed by 20 minutes of questions and answers.

All events will be free, open to the public, and supplied with refreshments.

Keynote Speaker Brigadier General Mark Arnold

Brigadier General Arnold is a highly decorated military leader and accomplished corporate executive. He currently leads full-time fundraising and program management to support Ukraine through the Columbus Foundation. In addition, he is a Trustee of Ohio University and a Trustee of Ohio University’s Foundation Board.

For his keynote address, Brig. Gen. Arnold will discuss his extensive experience and networks in Ukraine, as well as his observations of both Russian and Ukrainian political and military leadership.

Conference schedule

• Keynote Address: April 16 at 7 p.m. in Schoonover 145
• Panel 1: Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Alden 319
• Panel 2: Friday from 3 to 5  p.m. in Alden 319

Panel 1: Power at Home

• Andrew Preston, Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy and Statecraft at the University of Virginia
• Kyle Balzer, Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
• Robert Ingram, Professor and Director of the Program on Humanities in the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin
• Michael Kleinman, Head of U.S. Policy for the Future of Life Institute

Panel 2: Power Abroad

• Ludovic Hood, U.S. Foreign Service Officer and Former White House Advisor
• Henry Haggard, U.S. Foreign Service Officer and Counselor at the U.S. Embassy Seoul
• Carrie Filipetti, Executive Director of the Vandenberg Coalition
• Eric Draitser, Political Analyst and Journalist with CounterPunch

About the Baker Peace Conference

The Baker Peace Conference is an annual event that brings together a diverse group of leading experts to discuss a significant national or international issue related to peace.

The first Baker Peace Conference took place in 1988, six years after the late Dr. John C. Baker, the University’s president from 1945–1962, and his wife, Elizabeth, established the John and Elizabeth Baker Peace Studies Endowment to encourage the education of students and the general public in the means by which peace can be established and maintained throughout the world. The Baker Conferences are jointly sponsored by the Contemporary History Institute and the Baker Peace Studies Program.

All events are free and open to the public. Institute students participate in these conferences and are involved in helping to organize them.