Vice President for Economic Innovation at West Virginia University
Major General (retired) James A. Hoyer is Vice President for Economic Innovation at West Virginia University. In that role, he has facilitated the sharing of ideas, technology and innovation across the university and state. His work has promoted accelerated advancement in fields such as public health and health care, technology, cyber security, agriculture and next-generation economic development.
Hoyer also is Senior Mentor for the Civil Military Innovation Institute (CMI2), a nonprofit organization that bridges the gaps in defense innovation. Hoyer provides strategic input to CMI2 toward creating functional solutions for immediate impact on the frontlines of military defense, modernization and workforce development in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and public safety communities. In addition, he serves on the Board of Advisors for Fidelis New Energy LLC.
A West Virginia native and a military leader with a career spanning nearly 40 years, Hoyer has led complex state and federal missions as a member of the West Virginia National Guard. For the decade prior to his military retirement, he was appointed Adjutant General, West Virginia Joint Forces Headquarters - West Virginia from 2011-2021, serving three Governors. In that role, he provided command guidance and vision to the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard of more than 6,500 Citizen Soldiers and Airmen and 2,500 civilians. In that capacity he also led the state’s Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) unified command structure in response to multiple state emergencies and major security events. His JIATF leadership ranged from ensuring safety and security at large-scale state and national events; to leading the state’s recovery from the thousand-year flood in 2016; to leading the West Virginia COVID-19 Response JIATF, for which he was appointed in 2020 and continued to lead as a civilian.
Prior, Hoyer led the development of the West Virginia National Guard Counterdrug Task Force and the Joint Interagency Training and Education Center and its Center for National Response. He also served as Director, Joint Staff, West Virginia Joint Force Headquarters before his appointment as Adjutant General.
Earning an undergraduate degree from the University of Charleston, Hoyer was commissioned in 1983 through a joint Reserve Officer Training Corps program with West Virginia State University. He has a master’s degree in management and public administration from the West Virginia Graduate College, a master’s in strategic studies from the US Army War College and a Certificate in Identity Management from the Naval Post Graduate School.
Hoyer’s awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and the West Virginia Distinguished Service Medal. In addition, he was awarded the Officer’s Cross of Merit from the President of Poland and the Order of Merit from the Peruvian Army. His greatest achievements in his estimation, however, are his roles as husband, father of two sons who also serve our state and nation, and new grandfather.
