The University has hired a new director to lead its embattled financial aid department, eight months after an investigation by the New York Attorney General's office into ethics violations forced the ousting of former Director Ellen Frishberg.
Vincent Amoroso, who has worked in the financial aid department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill for nine years, started at Hopkins last week.
With his arrival, the financial aid office expects to compile a new list of preferred lenders - one of the subjects of last year's investigation - relatively soon, although it is unlikely that it will be finished in time for the class of 2012.
Though his colleagues cautioned him against working for a department seemingly marred by ethics violations, Amoroso chose Hopkins over a number of other schools, including Columbia University, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas. Those schools were also searching for heads of their financial aid departments after similar investigations.
Among the factors that impressed Amoroso, who worked as deputy director of scholarships and student aid at UNC-Chapel Hill, was a recognition by the faculty of the gravity of the ethics violations.
Still, "the past is the past," he said, "and I'm more interested in the future."
Amoroso will be heading up an office that is working under a recently adopted code of conduct - one that is much more restrictive than before New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's extensive investigation discovered multiple conflicts of interest between Hopkins's director and at least one loan company.
"There was absolutely no other individual in that office that had a relationship with a lender or anybody that could be construed as a conflict of interest, perceived or otherwise," said Dean of Enrollment and Academic Services William Conley, who served as interim director while the search for a new one was conducted.
Ultimately, neither the code of conduct nor any other ethical concern deterred Amoroso, continued Conley.
One part of the financial aid system that Amoroso hopes to tackle soon is the list of recommended lenders. This list of student loan companies was created to give students and parents direction in their choice of lenders but was abolished on account of Frishberg's conflicts of interest.
"Not all loan programs are created equal, and the University's intent to provide guidance is still valid," Amoroso said.
Moreover, he thought an interactive discussion on campus would need to occur before Hopkins could again move in the right direction.
"Our motivation and methodology for lender selection should be transparent and engender the trust and respect of Hopkins's students and families," he said.
While the quality and the "transparency" of the Hopkins's preferred list remains vital to the financial aid department, the speed of the process may have to be sacrificed.
"We don't have a definitive date," he said. "It is more important to do it right and without any question of process. Obviously, it would be great to have it available when we admit 3,600 students to Hopkins [this year], but we are not going to do that at the sacrifice of diligence and quality."
Amoroso was enthusiastic about his change of scenery. While many aspects of his new department are quite different from Chapel Hill (including moving from a public university to a private one, and from a suburban environment to an urban one), Amoroso welcomed the challenge, said he was "ready for change."
Conley, who was faced with the daunting task of finding a competent replacement of the 20-year veteran Frishberg, was also excited about Amoroso's arrival. Conley expressed concern that a shadow would be cast on the professionalism of the financial aid department because of the situation in which Frishberg left the University.
"It was not a search I was planning on making," Conley said.
However, Conley was not only able successfully conduct the search for a replacement director; he was also able to smoothly transition the department with the assistance of the Senior Associate Directors of the Office of Student Financial Services Benedict Dorsey and Tom McDermott through a period of instability. He also worked with the General Council, Hopkins's legal body, in assisting Cuomo in his review of the investigation, all the while acting as dean of Enrollment and Academic Services.
Conley credited Frishberg, in part, for this relatively seamless transition.
"That was a testament to Ellen Frishberg ... she created a system of processes and people who were really top-notch," he said.
Among these "top-notch people" was McDermott, who was one of the five final applicants for the position of director. McDermott was a well-qualified applicant, according to Conley, but due to a series of events, he was drawn to Peabody's financial aid office as their new director.
This left Amoroso to compete with three others for the position. Conley said he was won over by Amoroso's experience, highly regarded stature, his "outstanding" references and the fact that at Chapel Hill, he had "a scope of staff and oversight comparable" to that of Hopkins.
Conley was not the only one at Hopkins who was looking forward to Amoroso's impact on the financial aid system.
Benedict Dorsey, a senior associate director of Student Financial Services, was also excited about the possibilities of what a "fresh pair of eyes" can see and appreciated the pillars of Amoroso's philosophy, including the goals to better fund students, stretching funds across the board, and especially focusing on the underfunded middle class.
As of now, Amoroso is focusing on familiarizing himself with current office policies and procedures, coordinating staff for the new awarding cycle and getting a feel for the University.
"Many federal aid programs are the same from school to school, but how they are put into practice can vary immensely," Amoroso said.
In the long run Amoroso hopes to increase both access and affordability, two key tenets of his aid philosophy. Regardless of the change from a public to a private university setting, he hopes to take cost out of the equation when it comes to choosing the school that is right for the student.
"Limited family resources shouldn't remove Hopkins as a student's top choice," Amoroso said.
