Office of the Vice President & General Counsel - Legal Team
Roger Hershey - Vice President & General Counsel

Roger Hershey, vice president and general counsel, serves Park University as its chief legal officer. When Hershey assumed this position in March 2004, he had more than 30 years of legal experience. He previously served as president, shareholder and director of King Hershey PC, a law firm established in 1988 in Kansas City, Mo. The firm is noted for its work in local government law, commercial real estate development, complex financial transactions and municipal bond law.

Hershey was a member of the Park University Board of Trustees from 1995 to 2004, serving as board chair for two years, a member the Executive Committee and as chair of the Business and Endowment Committee. He served as the president of Park University Enterprises Inc., a subsidiary corporation of the University, and served on its Board of Directors from 2002 to 2006.

Hershey received a bachelor's degree from Graceland University, and a master of laws degree and juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He also graduated from the U.S. Naval Justice School in Newport, R.I., and served four years active duty as a lieutenant, Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve.

Hershey received the 2003 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Independence (Mo.) Chamber of Commerce for community service and leadership in the passage of Independence streets and parks sales taxes in 1997, 1998 and 2003, and the city's street excise tax in 2000. Hershey also received the 2002 Civic Leadership Award, presented by the Missouri Municipal League and the mayor of Independence, for business and civic leadership in the development of the city.

An active participant in civic and nonprofit groups, Hershey currently serves or has served in various leadership roles with the Independence Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board of Directors, the Independence License Surcharge Annual Review Committee, the Parkville (Mo.) Economic Development Committee, the Independence Chamber of Commerce, Independence Citizens for Streets and Parks, Independence Council on Economic Development, Independence Park Commission, Mid-America Regional Council Metro Green Civic Leadership Board, Rotary International, The Scandinavian Association of Greater Kansas City, Sierra Club, The Jackson County (Mo.) Historical Society and The Sierra Club Foundation.

Courtney E. Goddard - Associate Vice President & General Counsel

Courtney E. Goddard serves as Associate Vice President & General Counsel at Park University. Goddard was first employed by Park in July, 2007 as Assistant General Counsel. She was promoted to Associate General Counsel in December, 2009.

Goddard earned her Juris Doctorate at the University of Missouri Columbia in 2000, and entered private practice that same year. Immediately prior to her Park employment she was a senior associate at Blackwell, Sanders, Peper & Martin LLP in Kansas City, Mo. Before that she worked for two St. Louis law firms, Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C., and McMahon, Berger, Hanna, Linihan, Cody & McCarthy P.C. Goddard is licensed to practice law in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and several federal courts. While in private practice, she represented public and private institutions of higher learning, public school districts and corporate clients in civil, labor and employment litigation in both state and federal courts.

At Park Goddard has had major responsibilities related to employment, human resources, labor, and student legal matters, has represented Park in numerous EEOC, MHRC, OCR and arbitration cases, and has also worked closely with Park's outside counsel litigation matters. She 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 the employee handbook current. She currently serves on the Park Strategic Planning Commission, and recently served on the search committee for the newly named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

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