Retired from the Position, Not the Purpose

Description

The WVU Committee of Retired Faculty and OLLI will host a lecture by Major General (Ret.) James A. Hoyer on Wednesday, September 2, at 2:30 p.m. in classroom B at the Mountaineer Mall and on Zoom. The presentation is free and open to the public. Registration required. Retirement may mark the end of a formal career, but it does not diminish the value of the knowledge, relationships, judgment, and experience accumulated along the way. In fact, it can create new freedom to put those assets to work in places where they may have an entirely different kind of impact. Drawing on more than four decades of military and civilian leadership, and his own transition from commanding organizations to mentoring, volunteering, teaching, and elevating others, Major General (Ret.) James A. Hoyer will explore how experienced professionals can continue contributing well beyond their traditional careers. For retired faculty who have spent years or even decades educating students and advancing knowledge within universities, Hoyer will challenge participants to think about the community itself as another classroom. How might expertise in science, engineering, technology, medicine, the humanities, or other disciplines help a local nonprofit solve a problem, help a young person discover a career, strengthen civic preparedness, mentor an emerging leader, or connect organizations that otherwise might never work together? Through lessons from military leadership, emergency response, higher education, and his current work mentoring young people and highlighting community leaders through the At The Leadership Table radio show segment and podcast, Hoyer will invite us to think about how retirement can be less about stepping away from a career than deciding where a lifetime of experience can do the most good next. Major General (Ret.) James A. Hoyer is a leader, mentor, and lifelong public servant whose more than four decades of experience span military leadership, emergency and crisis response, higher education, innovation, and community engagement. Hoyer served for ten years as West Virginia’s Adjutant General, commanding more than 6,500 Army and Air National Guard members and 2,500 civilian employees. He also led the state’s Joint Interagency Task Force through major emergencies and complex challenges, including the 2016 thousand-year flood and the COVID-19 pandemic response. Following his military retirement, he served as West Virginia University’s Vice President for Economic Innovation and continues to advise WVU and mentor organizations and individuals working across national security, technology, workforce development, healthcare, and economic development. Throughout his career, and increasingly now in retirement, Hoyer has focused on developing people, connecting generations, and putting experience to work in service of others. He is an active volunteer, youth educator, and leadership mentor, including as host of At The Leadership Table with Retired Major General Jim Hoyer, a radio and podcast series that elevates the stories and lessons of everyday community leaders in the Mountain State while providing university students with hands-on professional experience in production, editing, and promotions. Hoyer sees his greatest roles as husband, father to two sons who also serve our State and Nation, and now a grandfather to an active toddler as well. He strives to help make a better tomorrow in West Virginia for them. He believes leadership is defined not by title or position, but by service to others, and that the knowledge and experience accumulated over a lifetime can remain a powerful resource for strengthening communities and preparing the next generation.