John O. Marsh, Senior Fellow and Distinguished Adjunct Professor

703-993-4840 

The Honorable John O. Marsh Jr., former Secretary of the Army and former Congressman from Virginia, is a Senior Fellow at The Tech Center and a Distinguished Professor at the George Mason University School of Law. Mr. Marsh has taught Cyber-Terrorism and National Security Law several times at the law school.

Mr. Marsh is a native of Virginia and received his law degree from Washington and Lee University. After spending a decade in private practice, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1962, where he was a member of the Appropriations Committee. He served in Congress for eight years.

In March 1973, Mr. Marsh returned to federal service as Assistant Secretary of Defense. In January 1974, he was named National Security Advisor for then Vice President Ford. When Mr. Ford became President, Mr. Marsh was named Counsellor to the President and held Cabinet rank. In 1977, he returned to the private practice of law.

Mr. Marsh was named Secretary of the Army by President Reagan and took office in January 1981. When Mr. Marsh retired in August 1989, his tenure was the longest of any U.S. military secretary in history.

Mr. Marsh is the former Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer of Novavax, Inc., a Maryland pharmaceutical company. He served as Visiting Professor of Ethics at the Virginia Military Institute for the 1998-1999 academic year and as Adjunct Professor of Law at The College of William & Mary for the 1999-2000 academic year.

Mr. Marsh and his wife, the former Glenn Ann Patterson, have three children: Rob, a physician; Rebecca, a former high school counselor; and Scot, a surveyor. Both sons were recalled to active duty and took part in combat operations in the Persian Gulf War. Subsequently, Rob, a combat surgeon for the Delta Force, was wounded in Somalia.