A BRIEF HISTORY OF DE-DC-MD ASFAA:  1969-1987

By Roscoe E. Dann Jr.

(Reprinted from the November, 1987 issue of News & Views)

   The District of Columbia-Maryland Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators was formed under its first Constitution on October 10, 1969 at Prince George’s Community College (Largo, Maryland), and under the leadership of H. Palmer Hopkins (University of Maryland at College Park) and Maurice Heartfield (George Washington University).

     The charter membership of about 50 adopted the following purposes for the Association: 1) to promote the professional association of student financial aid administrators in colleges and universities in  Maryland and the District of Columbia:  2) to education institutions, foundations, government agencies, and private and community organizations to promote and develop effective programs in support of student financial aids;  3) to facilitate communications between educational institutions, as well as other sponsors to student financial aid funds, through exchange of ideas, experiences, and information; and 4) to promote such cooperative experiments, studies, conferences, and other related activities as may be desirable or required to fulfill the purposes of the association.  After over 18 years, these original Constitutional purposes are still relevant.

     Though Delaware institutions were invited to join the Association in 1970, it wasn’t until 1971 that Gerry Allen of the University of Delaware became a member; which event led to the official inclusion of the Delaware institutions on October 13, 1972.  As a result of this change, the Executive Board was restructured to include three Member at Large positions, to represent the three geographic areas.  These Board Members’ functions developed over the years, into more complex expectations.  By 1977, these job titles were renamed to State Chair.

     Training has been a recognized responsibility of the Board since its inception.  As a form of training opportunity, two annual conferences have been scheduled since 1970.  As has been the norm for most of this period, the Fall Conference, in either September or October, has been a one-day affair, while the Spring conference, in March or April, has been planned as a two-day event.  Commencing in October, 1972, the Association has planned (for), and conducted an annual five-day Neophyte Student Financial Aid Workshop.  These workshops have been consistently, of high caliber, using well-qualified and experienced Student Financial Aid Officers, bankers, Department of Education staff members, state loan and scholarship personnel, and CSS-ACT staffers as instructors.  It should be noted that this workshop has also been the least expensive of similar such workshops available across the USA.  Much credit must accrue to the workshop’s first coordinator:  Dr. Herm Davis of Montgomery College.  Dr. Davis saw its need while serving as the Association’s third president.  By 1974, annual Support Staff Workshops became common-place.  On several occasions the Association conducted Advanced Student Financial Aid Workshops.  The Newsletter was established in 1970 as the principal device for information and communication between the Association’s members.  A Code of Ethics was adopted in 1973.