Academy of Fellows
Recognizing career services and HR professionals for their advancement of knowledge, leadership, and excellence in professional practice.
Alan Goodman
During
his 25 years at The Catholic University of America and nearly three decades
in the field, Alan Goodman has been an educator, an author, and an advocate
for ethical behavior.
“Alan has distinguished himself as a professional in our field through his contributions in the areas of ethics and principles for professional conduct,” explains Patricia Carretta, associate dean of university life at George Mason University, who nominated Goodman for the Academy of Fellows.
“Alan has inspired many of us to think more deeply about issues, to be more vocal advocates of standards and principles, and to ‘walk the walk’.”
Goodman, director of career services at The Catholic University of America, has served on the NACE Principles for Professional Conduct Committee since 1992, either as a member, chair, or cochair. He helped create the current NACE Principles for Professional Conduct document and was the initial author of its companion piece, the User’s Guide.
Goodman led or collaborated with the team of colleagues that developed white papers and policy statements addressing and providing guidance on significant and challenging issues surrounding college recruiting. Topics addressed include guidance about the recruitment process for faculty members, the use of alcohol in recruiting practices, exploding offers, commercialization of career services, interviewing with third-party recruiters, and firms that offer third-party alumni career services.
“My work with NACE has really been focused on ethics,” Goodman explains. “What has been most rewarding about this work is the opportunity and encouragement I have received to tackle some difficult questions that are important to the membership, to develop some creative approaches toward developing a dialogue on these issues, and to work with incredible, talented, and dedicated people who share this passion and commitment.”
In addition, Goodman has written numerous articles for NACE publications and has presented at the NACE National Meeting.
“I would say a lot of the things I am being acknowledged for and a lot of the ideas that took shape came from other people,” Goodman says. “I’m not being falsely modest. Much of what we developed was because they had keen insights and strong commitments about it. People like Pat Carretta, Shelly Kaplan, Lee Gassert, Marv Roth, Bill Ziegler, Leigh Turner, Rosemary Hill, Jack Rayman, and I could go on and on.”
According to Goodman, it’s the people he has met in this profession—both his professional colleagues and the students he counsels—who inspire him.
“I take great joy in being able to see younger professionals develop who have worked with me,” says Goodman, who also enjoys photography, golf, running, and attending Ohio State football games. “I get the privilege of sitting down with students year after year after year. They’re all different, and some are truly inspiring. I admire them for their abilities, and I get a chance to help them become what they want to be. The promise of that never ends.”
One person he has met in the field—Becky Weir, assistant director of the career center at the University of Maryland—stands out for Goodman.
“The career field indirectly brought us together,” he explains. “We met as students at Ohio State University in the 1970s. She moved to the D.C. area in the mid-1980s and helped me write several pieces on ethics. Eventually, we fell in love and, after a long courtship, we got married in 2000. I don’t know if it would have worked out that way if we hadn’t been in this field.”
Goodman also appreciates that his profession allows him to explore his creative side.
“This career allows you to try new things,” he explains. “While the age of students doesn’t change, the ways in which to work with them continues to evolve. I never get bored. It has allowed me to stay fresh. There are new issues, new faces, and new challenges, and for me, it’s been a source of renewal.”
That creativity extends beyond his work with students. For instance, each holiday season, Goodman—an aficionado of 1950s rock n’ roll and doo-wop who has sung periodically over the past 30-plus years in a rock n’ roll revival band that plays everything from Elvis to Chuck Berry to Jerry Lee Lewis—struts in the career center in full costume, hair greased, and serenades his staff with his take on “Blue Christmas.”
“This field so much represents who I am,” Goodman adds. “It’s fascinating that as I have been trying to help others find out who they are, I have found out who I am.”
