Mark Holden earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering at Duke University in 1978. During his time there, he participated in an acoustic study of Duke's student union as part of a physics course. This experience came full circle when he worked on the renovation of Duke's Baldwin Hall (explored as a case study within this text). He has lectured at Harvard's School of Design, Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, is a member of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants, the United States Institute of Theater Technology (USITT), and an elected fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.