NEWS RELEASE
Courtney E. Goddard, J.D., associate vice president and general counsel for Park University, has been honored by Ingram's, a Kansas City business magazine, as a member of its "40 Under Forty" class of 2012. The selection honors Kansas City's most accomplished young business and community leaders.
Goddard, who previously served the University as associate general counsel and assistant general counsel, started her career at Park in July 2007. Her responsibilities at Park have been related to employment, human resources, labor and student legal matters. She has represented Park before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Missouri Human Rights Commission, Office of Civil Rights, Better Business Bureau and in arbitration matters, and has worked closely with Park's outside counsel in cases that result in litigation. Goddard also negotiates, reviews and drafts contracts with third parties, assists with the administration of the collective bargaining agreement between Park and its full-time faculty, and works with the director of Human Resource Services and others to keep all Park University policies current.
Roger Hershey, J.D., L.L.M., vice president and general counsel at Park, said Goddard's honor is well-deserved.
"Courtney is a consummate legal professional," Hershey said. "Since joining the Park University legal team in 2007, she has broadened the range of legal services provided by the Office of General Counsel and has been particularly valuable in the areas of labor and employment, employment counseling, and student and disability law. Beyond her professional service, Courtney is active in a variety of Kansas City area nonprofit organizations and always represents Park well. Park is fortunate to have her."
Goddard earned her juris doctorate at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 2000, and entered private practice that same year. Before her Park employment, she was a senior associate at Blackwell, Sanders, Peper & Martin LLP in Kansas City, Mo. While in private practice, she represented public and private institutions of higher learning nationwide, public school districts in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois, and corporate clients in civil, labor and employment litigation in both state and federal courts.
