New Director of Financial Aid has worked at Drexel and Rutgers

By Jenna Wang 03/15/16 1:42am

Elaine Papas Varas has been appointed Penn's next Director of Financial Aid, the University announced on Monday. 

Varas will formally assume her position on March 28, 2016, according to the Office of Student Registration and Financial Services. With more than 30 years of experience in financial aid, Varas will be working at Penn to oversee the administration of federal financial aid funds and Penn’s financial aid programs.

Before her appointment at Penn, Varas served as Senior Executive Director of Student Financial Aid at Drexel University and University Director of Student Financial Aid at Rutgers University Biomedical Health Sciences and at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

“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,” Michelle H. Brown-Nevers, Associate Vice President for Student Registration and Financial Services, said in a press release. “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 her bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in psychology and completed graduate studies in higher education at Rutgers and Columbia University. She will succeed Joel Carstens, who has been Penn’s Director of Financial Aid since 2012. 

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