James Godo

Jim Godo ’93 is vice president for communication and strategic initiatives at North Central College where he has served his alma mater for 30 years.

After graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in organizational communication, he began working at North Central as an admission counselor. He earned a master’s degree in communication from Northern Illinois University and soon took on varying roles within North Central’s admission office, including director of enrollment marketing.

Godo transitioned into the College’s emerging office of marketing and communications and was named director of marketing for the institution in 2007. In 2010 he became assistant vice president of marketing and communications.

His role expanded in 2013 when he became assistant vice president for external affairs. During the 2016 and 2017 academic years, he played an important leadership role in the College's creation of the Shimer Great Books School. He was appointed to his current role as vice president on July 1, 2021, and currently oversees the College's communication, sports information, branding, and creative services functions while working closely with elected officials and community leaders and managing special projects in collaboration with the Office of the President and the Cabinet.

During his career, Godo has served on multiple Strategic Plan and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation committees, co-leads the Master Land Use Plan development process, had the honor of reading the names of graduates during each commencement ceremony from 2010 through 2019, and recently served as an ex-officio member of the presidential search committee. 

Godo is a member for the Downtown Naperville Alliance advisory board, hosts neighborhood meetings with the vice president for operations, and since 2001 has served as the Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium public address announcer for North Central College football.

He is a hobby photographer, lifelong Star Wars enthusiast, and loves taking walks in snow storms. He is married to Deborah, a 1992 graduate of North Central College who works at Accenture. Together, they have two daughters.