Virtual NoonTimeU

Taking breaks is important. Step away from your daily routine, spend your lunch break with Penn State Great Valley's free lunchtime learning events, and learn something new from experts. The NoonTimeU webinar series covers an array of topics to help with your personal and professional development.

Searching for Jimmy Hoffa: The Disappearance of America’s Most Notorious Labor Leader and Why It Still Matters Today

Thursday, February 25 | 12:00 p.m.
Free, advance registration required

David Witwer, Penn State Laureate for the 2020-21 academic year, explores the history of Jimmy Hoffa, a powerful labor leader with ties to organized crime whose disappearance in 1975 made him the most prominent victim of a mob hit in American history. Witwer discusses Hoffa’s disappearance, including why it mattered at the time and why it continues to matter, the case's connection to the federal government’s war on organized crime, and the shifting fortunes of the American workers who had once been among Hoffa’s most avid supporters.

Science, Sympathy, and the World of Civil War Medicine

Wednesday, March 10 | 12:00 p.m.
Free, advance registration required

Sharon Ann Holt, associate teaching professor of history at Penn State Abington, discusses how the carnage of the Civil War set off extraordinary innovation in battlefield medicine, pioneering the modern medical idea that illness should be addressed with science rather than moral reform. In the aftermath, as medical innovations continued, social norms about masculinity had to adapt to the existence of 400,000 wounded veterans. This tension helped to alter the 19th century gender system in ways that set the stage for the 20th century.

Becoming an Authentic Leader: The Cold Hard Truth

Thursday, March 18 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Free, advance registration required

Over the ages, the topic of authenticity has intrigued philosophers, writers, theologians, psychologists, ethicists and even business executives. While it has been referred to as “the gold standard for leadership,” work on the topic of leader authenticity has come under fire for lacking a realistic conceptual and evidence-based foundation. Denise Potosky, professor of management and organization, and John J. Sosik, distinguished professor of management and organization, examine leaders’ relationships with the truth and present a new evidence-based model of leader authenticity and its implications for organizational training. The webinar focuses on five key areas: What “authentic” means, the elements of authentic leadership, pitfalls of the authentic leadership literature and consulting practices, the pinwheel model of leader authenticity, and actionable tactics to develop your leader authenticity.