Welcome to EASFAA

EASFAA Friends and Colleagues,

As we come off of one of the most difficult years for EASFAA in its 54 years of existence, we can all have hope for the coming year. After a year when we could not gather together in person, had to move two conferences to a virtual platform and clung together through Zoom, we now have the prospects of returning to normal, albeit a new normal.

There is no better time than now to redefine who we are as an organization and as a profession. What we found this past year is that we were up to the task in continuing to serve students at our institutions, despite the adversity. We did this through virtual meetings, in-person meetings but with masks and glass partitions, emails, online document collection and review, whatever worked to get the job done. We proved we could persevere under the most difficult circumstances. Now it is time to take what we have learned from this experience and to move forward.

No organization can be strong without an active membership. There are many EASFAA committees seeking new members for the coming year and I invite everyone to volunteer and get involved with the association. One new committee is the Sector Interests Committee. This committee will be creating subcommittees for each of our sectors (i.e., two-year public colleges, private colleges, etc.) where committee members will be able to bring forward issues of concern for advocacy, help develop webinar topics and conference sessions, and otherwise educate colleagues about the way financial aid business is conducted throughout higher education. This would be a great opportunity to get involved with EASFAA.

Ours is a truly noble profession and all of us should be proud of what we do. Let’s work together to support one another in our professional development and career advancement and in the process build lifelong friendships and hopefully have a little fun along the way.

I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year.

Jim Anderson
2021-2022 EASFAA President
Montclair State University

 Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In support of the EASFAA mission, we are committed to building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive community of professionals regardless of racial and gendered identities, age, national origin, intellectual or physical disabilities, religion, sexual orientation, professional and educational level, institutional type, or any other uniquely defined characteristics in accordance with the Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.