Washington and Lee University provides a liberal arts education that develops students' capacity to think freely, critically, and humanely and to conduct themselves with honor, integrity, and civility. Graduates will be prepared for life-long learning, personal achievement, responsible leadership, service to others, and engaged citizenship in a global and diverse society.
~University Mission Statement
The Position
Washington and Lee University seeks a Director of Financial Aid to lead the administration of the University’s student financial aid programs. Reporting to the Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid, the new director is responsible for the development and implementation of financial aid strategies, policies, and procedures to serve the University's strategic goals and to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations and statutes. The Director will develop and implement policies; manage office operations; and provide leadership to six professional staff. The director will ensure the highest standard of customer service while overseeing a comprehensive aid portfolio serving both undergraduate and law students.
Continuing the momentum of its long-serving director, James Kaster, W&L is seeking a financial aid professional with strategic vision as well as expertise in financial aid compliance, regulatory knowledge, and an understanding of best practices. The Director will lead a motivated team in serving students and families in a manner that is distinctively Washington and Lee; an approach which emphasizes a commitment to providing a highly personalized academic experience, making education affordable for all students, and preparing graduates for lives of personal fulfillment and professional success.
Duties and responsibilities
The essential duties and responsibilities for the Director of Financial Aid include the following:
- Collaborate with the Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid on strategic planning, student financial aid policy development, and implementation;
- Represent the University and the Office of Financial Aid internally as a member of the President’s Council, and externally as a member of national and regional financial aid professional organizations;
- Manage the daily operations of the Financial Aid Office including staff supervision, training, annual performance reviews, and supportive actions;
- Supervise, direct and administer all financial aid programs and funds including timely packaging, disbursement, and recordkeeping for comprehensive undergraduate and law aid;
- Oversee the University’s financial aid budget for including institutional awards, FSEOG, federal work study, and any other state, federal, or local aid programs; oversee all aspects of the university’s need-based aid programs including those associated with QuestBridge and international grants; oversee management of VA education benefits programs;
- Lead proactive, accurate and accessible financial aid materials and information across multiple channels to ensure students and families clearly understand financial aid policies, timelines, opportunities, and regulations;
- Oversee financial aid literacy outreach efforts, offering financial literacy education for prospective and current students, the campus community, and the greater Lexington community; initiate new efforts to reach, educate, and serve students across various backgrounds;
- Support admissions and academic departments with timely financial aid information during recruitment and yield efforts;
- Manage compliance, reporting, and audit processes; oversee the A-133 audit including any necessary response and remediation efforts related to financial aid management and programs;
- Recommend, interpret, and administer financial aid policies ensuring compliance with pertinent federal, state and university regulations;
- Proactively communicate changes in financial aid policies, processes or practices to financial aid staff and other university stakeholders, articulate the impact of changes on students, processes, and community;
- Research, analyze, develop and recommend departmental processes and procedures to improve operational efficiency and to ensure proper controls;
- Serve as lead contact for escalated student and family concerns; resolve issues with sensitivity and in adherence with the University’s policies;
- Oversee the management of all student employment including the work-study program for student employees; assure effective systems for job placement, payroll tracking, budgeting, dispute resolution with campus offices, and compliance with federal work-study requirements; monitor community service programs, student over earning reports, and federal fund utilization;
- Contribute to or complete financial aid surveys, forms and reports, including, but not limited to the annual FISAP, CDS, NCAA, yearly statistical updates, and recertification of the program participation agreement;
- Maintain effective coordination with key campus offices (Admissions, Registrar, Student Accounts, Business Office) to ensure seamless student service and operational efficiency; facilitate and encourage close communication and coordination within the division of Admissions and Financial Aid; prepare major office communications regarding financial aid; and
- Engage in strategic conversations around access and affordability in higher education; develop messaging to communicate W&L’s affordability clearly and consistently to students and families and participate in conversations about the use of financial aid to recruit a highly qualified class.
Qualifications and Characteristics
The successful candidate must have a bachelor’s degree; an advanced degree in higher education administration, business administration, public policy, or a related field is preferred. This role requires five or more years of progressive responsibility, and proven supervisory and leadership effectiveness in financial aid in a higher education setting. Experience in a selective liberal arts residential educational setting and previous experience with institutional methodology and the CSS profile is preferred. Candidates will be technologically savvy with a preference for experience and expertise with PowerFAIDS.
Candidates must have the ability to leverage data, the acumen to translate complex data into insights and strategic, actionable recommendations that support enrollment goals. In addition, candidates should be able to work collaboratively, as well as independently, with a high level of energy and responsibility. The successful candidate will demonstrate keen planning and organizational skills as well as excellent analytic, problem solving, written, and oral communication skills.
Washington and Lee University
Founded in 1759, Washington and Lee is a top-ranked, private institution in Lexington, Virginia. The University integrates rigorous inquiry and critical thinking throughout a liberal arts curriculum. With established undergraduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, STEM- including engineering- and performing and visual arts, as well as national accredited programs in business and journalism and innovative interdisciplinary programs such as entrepreneurship, data science and law, justice and society, Washington and Lee combines the advantages of a small liberal arts college with the opportunities of a research university. Washington and Lee’s small size and expansive curriculum offer students the academic flexibility of a larger university with the support and faculty mentorship only a small college can provide. Students are encouraged to study what interests them, to make connections across disciplines, and to engage in immersive experiences that puts their learning to work. Students leave W&L well-prepared to land their first job, with the knowledge and skills to build a fulfilling career.
W&L’s history traces the arc of the nation’s history. Founded as Augusta Academy in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1749, the school changed locations and names several times over the years. In 1871, the name was changed to Washington and Lee University, recognizing the contributions of both George Washington, an early benefactor of Liberty Hall Academy, and Robert E. Lee, who served as president of Washington College from 1865-1870. Today, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the country and is nationally recognized as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States.
Serving approximately 1,900 undergraduates and 375 law students, W&L’s motto, “Non Incautus Futuri,” or “not unmindful of the future,” underlies the university’s commitment to providing a liberal arts education that is vital and relevant to the 21st century. The curriculum consists of two twelve-week terms, as well as a four-week immersive Spring Term, where students take a single class, frequently off-campus or abroad. W&L’s transformative education provides an expansive curriculum that encourages students to explore a variety of subjects and make connections between them. With a faculty ratio of 8:1, students receive personalized attention from faculty mentors, and students retain after their first year at 98 percent, with a four-year graduation rate of 94 percent, demonstrating W&L’s commitment to student support and success. Among numerous post graduate successes, W&L is number one among liberal colleges producing Rhodes Scholars in the past decade.
W&L is a residential campus, with residency requirements for the first three years. Overall, 77 percent live in campus housing and students are encouraged to participate in multitudes of clubs and organizations, often creating new ones from like-minded interests. The Generals field 24 varsity athletic teams in the NCAA Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference, along with 20 club sports and a wide range of intramural sports.
The Honor System
Among W&L’s most important traditions, the Honor System’s roots can be traced to the mid-19th century and deliberate steps to relax faculty supervision of students' actions. In 1905, the student body assumed direct control of the Honor System by forming the Executive Committee of the Student Body, manifesting Lee's vision of student accountability. This uncommon assignment of trust is the hallmark of Washington and Lee's Honor System, and it calls each generation of students to vigilant custodianship. Students at Washington and Lee recognize the great authority they possess and the communal presumption to behave honorably. Students are expected to abide by the Honor System by representing themselves truthfully and seeking no unfair advantage over their peers. This understanding instills a profound sense of trust among all within the University community and enriches every aspect of student life.
Leadership
William C. (Will) Dudley became the 27th president of Washington and Lee University on January 1, 2017. A Virginia native, born in Charlottesville and raised in Arlington, Dudley received his B.A. in mathematics and philosophy, magna cum laude, from Williams College in 1989. Dudley worked for AES from 1990 to 1992 before pursuing graduate studies at Northwestern University, where he earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in philosophy.
He joined the Williams faculty in 1998, teaching courses on moral and political philosophy, metaphysics and epistemology, the philosophy and economics of higher education, and the spiritual significance of sports. From 2011-2016, Dudley served as the provost at Williams, where he oversaw operations supporting the college’s academic mission, allocated budgets and positions, and undertook strategic initiatives. He supervised the directors of Admission, Financial Aid, the College Libraries, Information Technology, the Science Center, Institutional Research, the Williams College Museum of Art, and the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives.
At W&L, President Dudley initiated the university’s strategic plan and resulting capital campaign, championing the university’s distinctive academic and campus community, and prioritized access and affordability, most recently resulting in the largest gift to the university: $132 million to become need-blind in admission. During his tenure, President Dudley has supported innovative academic programs, including the addition of interdisciplinary academic minors in entrepreneurship, data science, law, justice and society and arts management and overseen the creation of both the Linley Wellness Center and new Williams School of Commerce academic facility. He continues to teach at W&L, offering seminars on virtue ethics and liberal arts education.
The enrollment division is led by Sally Stone Richmond, who became the vice president for admissions and financial aid at Washington and Lee University in July, 2015. A Davidson College undergraduate and Harvard graduate alumnus, Richmond began her career as an admission counselor at Davidson, rising to assistant dean. Following graduate school, Richmond served as associate director of college counseling and faculty member at Episcopal High School. Returning to higher education, Richmond was associate dean of admission and financial aid at Davidson College. And just prior to coming to W&L, Richmond served as the Dean of Admissions at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.
Under Richmond’s leadership, W&L has grown in selectivity, diversity and access. Today the university admits fewer than fourteen percent of each applicant pool and yields 42% of admitted students. The proportion of students receiving need-based student aid has increased thirty percent in her tenure. In addition, students of color and Pell enrollment has doubled in her tenure. She and her team have prioritized the marketing and implementation of the Johnson Scholarship and generous need-based financial aid programs, expanding national and regional Community Based Organization partnerships and campus recruiting partnerships with the athletics and performing arts departments. Richmond has held university posts on and off campus, including the Mellon Academic Leadership Fellows Program, QuestBridge, and American Talent Initiative.
Strategic Plan
During his first year in office at W&L, President Dudley initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process to set priorities for the coming decade. The resulting strategic plan, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2018, builds on the university’s distinctive strengths while furthering initiatives in support of W&L’s aspiration to be a national model for liberal arts education in the 21st century. Since 2017, W&L has made significant progress in attracting highly qualified and increasingly diverse students, faculty, and staff to Lexington. The university has also begun to implement curricular and capital initiatives from the strategic plan, bolstering its commitment to interdisciplinary programs with new minors in legal studies, entrepreneurship, and data science and updating the campus master plan, which includes a teaching and learning center, expanded facilities for the sciences and the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics, a museum of institutional history and culture, and a center for Admissions and Financial Aid.
Financial Aid at Washington and Lee
W&L typically awards more than $60 million in need-based financial aid each year and guarantees to meet 100 percent of a student’s demonstrated financial need through grants, scholarships, and campus work. Students are not asked to assume debt by taking out loans as part of their financial aid award. Because of its general financial aid policies, students participating in the 2026 Princeton Review survey ranked W&L first overall for “Great Financial Aid."
In 2024, Washington and Lee received an historic gift of $132 million from William H. “Bill” Miller III that allowed W&L to implement a need-blind admissions policy for all undergraduate students while maintaining its existing commitments to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, and to do so with aid packages that do not include loans. W&L became one of a small number of highly selective colleges and universities able to do all three. Miller’s extraordinary gift is the single largest in the university’s history and one of the largest dedicated to financial aid at any private liberal arts college.
The W&L Promise is the University’s commitment to meeting full financial need and allow students to graduate debt free. The policy reflects Washington and Lee’s commitment to making a top-tier liberal arts education accessible to talented students from all financial backgrounds. Through this program, admitted students from families earning less than $150,000 per year receive full tuition without loans. Students from families earning under $75,000 annually also receive support covering room and board. Transfer students may qualify as well, provided they apply for need-based aid and meet the eligibility guidelines. Additional funding for study abroad, internships, and personal expenses is available based on demonstrated need.
The Johnson Scholarship, awarded to approximately 44 students each year. The award covers tuition and fees, housing and food, and $10,000 in funding for a summer experience. Finalists for Johnson Scholarships participate in an on-campus competition with all expenses paid by Washington and Lee. This prestigious scholarship empowers motivated students to devote their talent and attention to the pursuit of their passions unencumbered by financial concerns, and to contribute to the intellectual and civic life of the W&L campus and of the world at large in years to come. Applying for a Johnson Scholarship also ensures that incoming students are considered for other merit scholarships based on geography or special interest.
Lexington, VA
Washington and Lee is located in Lexington, Virginia, a historic city of about 7,000 people in the beautiful and historic Shenandoah Valley. Consistently named one of the best small towns in Virginia and the South, downtown Lexington is listed on the Virginia and National Registers of Historic Places. As the Rockbridge County seat, it has long been a center of commerce and social activity. The architecture of downtown, as well as the surrounding residential district, is fascinating and has been carefully preserved. Downtown Lexington offers exceptional shopping, including unique, locally-owned boutiques, handmade chocolate and ice cream, locally-roasted coffee, works by local artisans, book stores, clothing shops, and a wide variety of restaurants (including farm-to-table delights), all within walking distance. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy mountain vistas on a walk along the Woods Creek trail or on a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Rockbridge County is the southern gateway to the Shenandoah Valley, easily accessible via I-81 and I-64 and all within a day’s drive of every major east coast city. W&L’s campus is about forty-five minutes to Roanoke, two hours from the state capital of Richmond, and three hours from Washington, D.C. For more information about Lexington and the surrounding area, visit lexingtonvirginia.com.
Compensation and Benefits
The minimum salary set for this position is $135,000; salary will be commensurate with experience. Washington and Lee is committed to providing its employees with a highly competitive benefits package that enhances the well-being of its employees and is consistent with the strategic objectives of the University.
To Apply
Applications, nominations, and inquiries for the position of Director of Financial Aid at Washington and Lee University should be directed to NES, a national search firm specializing in higher education executive enrollment opportunities. To arrange for a confidential conversation, please contact Robin Reynders (robin.reynders@nessearches.com) or Laura Robinson (laura.robinson@nessearches.com). An application must include a detailed letter of interest, an up-to-date resume, and contact information for five professional references. For best consideration, submit all application materials by email to: wlu@nessearches.com by January 2, 2026. Materials will be reviewed beginning in January, and the search will remain open until the position is filled. The anticipated start date is Summer, 2026. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given prior to contacting references.
Washington and Lee is an Equal Opportunity Employer seeking candidates committed to high standards of scholarship, performance, professionalism, and to a welcoming campus community. Job description requirements are representative, but not all‐inclusive of the knowledge, skill, and abilities needed to successfully perform this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.