The University of Pennsylvania has named Elaine Papas Varas as the University director of financial aid. Her appointment will be effective March 28, 2016, and is the result of a nationwide search. The announcement was made today by Michelle H. Brown-Nevers, associate vice president for student registration and financial services. 

Varas comes to Penn with more than 30 years of experience in financial aid, most recently serving as senior executive director of student financial aid at Drexel University. Prior to joining Drexel, she worked for many years as a university director of student financial aid for Rutgers University Biomedical Health Sciences and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. During her tenure at UMDNJ she served as director of the New Jersey Loan Redemption Program and doubled funding support for medically underserved communities. She facilitated federal funding integration of a merger of three state schools and established a nationally recognized Financial Literacy Program. Her leadership in the field has been acknowledged on a regional and national level, with a gubernatorial appointment to New Jersey’s Board of Higher Education Student Assistance Authority and with her selection as a negotiator with the Department of Education. 

“We are excited about Elaine’s commitment to educational access and look forward to her expertise to build upon the success of Penn’s distinctive financial aid program,” Brown-Nevers said. “She has a proven track record as an innovative leader, possesses a breadth of knowledge and experience and will bring a collaborative approach to enhance the work that we do in support of students and families.”

Varas received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wheaton College and completed graduate coursework in higher education at Rutgers and Columbia University. 

At Penn, Varas will oversee the effective administration of Title IV and Penn’s student financial aid programs amounting to nearly $500 million annually, of which more than $200 million is dedicated to grants for undergraduate students.

Additional information on the Office of Student Registration and Financial Services at Penn is available at www.srfs.upenn.edu.