Since joining the Office of Admissions in 1986, Jim Goecker has been involved in the recruitment of more than half of all living alumni of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He was named dean of admissions and financial aid in 2005, bringing the two offices together as one unit for the first time. In 2008, he was promoted to vice president of enrollment management.
Prior to joining Rose-Hulman, Goecker served as residence hall director at Vincennes University and taught and coached at the middle and high school levels.
Goecker was named honorary alumnus of Rose-Hulman in 1994 and received the John Mutchner award for outstanding support of Rose-Hulman athletics in 1999. He has twice been a recipient of the Excellence in Service award at the Institute, 2009 and 2012. He has served on numerous committees of the institute and was the official scorer for Rose-Hulman men's basketball from 1990-2008, and women's basketball from 1995-2008.
Goecker is also active beyond campus and has served on committees of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and the Indiana Association for College Admissions Counseling (IACAC), has been a presenter on multiple enrollment management issues at annual meetings of the IACAC, NACAC and the ACT Enrollment Managers Conference. In addition, he has been a summer fellow of the Peabody Professional Institute for Higher Education Management, Vanderbilt University, and a participant of the Harvard University Summer Institute on College Admissions.
Goecker’s international experience includes advising universities on enrollment management issues and serving on the advisory board for the Saudi Research Science Initiative (SRSI) of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He holds a MS in College Student Personnel from Indiana State University, a MA in American History and a BS in Social Studies Education from Ball State University.
Goecker's community involvement includes founding board member and past president of Terre Haute Torpedoes Swim Team, a USA Swimming meet official and NCAA Swimming and Diving official. Goecker is past president of the West Central Indiana Civil War Round Table and has made numerous presentations around the country on Civil War military intelligence and cavalry operations.
He is married to Debra, an elementary music teacher. They have two daughters, Heidi who lives in the Washington D.C. area, and Liesl who lives in Mumbai, India.