Left to right: General Edward C. “Shy” Meyer and Director of Army Staff Lt. General David Huntoon and Guest Lecturer Rick Atkinson, four-time Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and author.
Noblis trustees and officers and distinguished guests, including Director of Army Staff Lt. General David Huntoon, gathered on Wednesday for the inaugural event in the General Edward C. “Shy” Meyer Innovative Leadership Lecture Series. The Noblis Board of Trustees established the lecture series to honor General Edward C. “Shy” Meyer, the 29th Chief of the U.S. Army Staff and first Chairman of the Board of Noblis.
Rick Atkinson, four-time Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and author, presented the inaugural lecture. Drawing on his extensive historical research for his trilogy on World War II, Mr. Atkinson derived leadership lessons from the history of the Army. His stories spellbound the audience of retired and active duty military personnel and Noblis scientists and engineers. During the book signing that followed the lecture, Atkinson and the diverse set of attendees further reflected on the leadership lessons that remain relevant from that time of global conflict and change. Mr. Atkinson, a staff writer and senior editor at The Washington Post for more than twenty years, is the bestselling author of An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, The Long Gray Line, In the Company of Soldiers, and Crusade.
The annual General Edward C. Meyer Innovative Leadership Lecture Series promotes and encourages thoughtful, creative, and novel approaches to and examples of leadership. The lecture series seeks to present a diverse group of distinguished speakers, from the military services, as well as the public and private sectors, who offer their unique perspective on leadership. The General Edward C. Meyer Innovative Leadership Lecture is given each year on the Wednesday of the week of June 14, the date observed each year as the Birthday of the United States Army and as Flag Day.
General Meyer is a former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and at the time of his appointment, his selection by the President was widely considered a reflection of the desire to combine innovative and creative thinking with bold and confident leadership in the senior leadership ranks of the U.S. military. Throughout his Army career and during his retirement, General Meyer has encouraged the development of responsible and forward looking leadership approaches to serve the nation. The Meyer lectures celebrates his contributions by continuing this important work.