Our Client Partners

Professional Profiles

Professional Profile: John D. Arnold, Ph.D. (President)

Dr. Arnold is the President of Polaris Educational Systems, a consulting firm focusing on the design and implementation of pre-employment and promotion assessment systems for K-12 school districts. Dr. Arnold, a Research Professor on the graduate faculty of Wayne State University’s Department of Psychology, also serves as the Director of the department’s Applied Psychology and Organizational Research Group (APORG). Prior to holding these positions at WSU, Dr. Arnold was a Senior Vice President of Aon Consulting, where he directed the U.S. human resources consulting practice, providing services to a broad base of national and international clients.

Dr. Arnold has over 20 years of consulting experience, primarily in the areas of personnel selection and classification, assessment center design and development, and organizational research. Having directed numerous projects with a U.S., as well as international scope, Dr. Arnold is a recognized expert by many of the Fortune 500. A sample of private-sector clients include: Abbott Laboratories, AT&T, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Harley Davidson, Motorola, Pizza Hut, Spherion Corporation, Starwood Hotels and Resorts (Westins, Sheratons, etc.), and Taco Bell. More recently, Dr. Arnold has focused his expertise developed in the private sector on issues involved in pre-employment in the educational arena.

John Arnold holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He is an active member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Society for Human Resource Management and has twice served as the President of the Michigan Association of Industrial/Organizational Psychologists.

Dr. Arnold has published a number of articles and papers for professional journals and is a sought out speaker at national business and professional conferences.

Professional Profile: Larry Lobert (Vice President)

Larry is a veteran school human resources professional, having served for over twenty years in three exemplary school districts as a lead administrator in personnel and labor relations. Mr. Lobert was the executive director of human resources for Farmington Public Schools and more recently, the assistant superintendent for human resources for Grosse Pointe Public Schools, both in Michigan.

Larry has been a presenter and journal contributor for multiple state and national professional personnel organizations having developed a focus in educational hiring systems. His reputation is based on maximizing efficiency and quality by leveraging technology and research-based screening tools.

Larry’s efforts have been recognized in the general news media as well as professional journals, including the Detroit Free Press, the American Association of School Personnel Administrators Perspectives and the Michigan Association of School Personnel Administrators, MASPA News.

Mr. Lobert has served in key leadership roles as president of county and state school personnel associations as well as providing leadership as the Chair of the American Association of School Personnel Administrator’s Technology Committee.

Prior to his work as an administrator, Larry taught high school and elementary school in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. He holds a Master’s in Public Administration from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Education degree from The University of Michigan.