Washington & Jefferson College welcomes Bethany Iñesta Bowman, who will join W&J as Director of Financial Aid on October 1, 2020.
In this role, Bowman will collaborate with enrollment leaders to develop and execute financial aid strategy that continues to put students first while meeting institutional enrollment goals. She will lead the financial aid team to implement change, provide outreach, and initiate conversations about financial literacy.
“I love financial aid, so you don’t have to!” Bowman said. “I’m excited to join the W&J team and look forward to developing campus partnerships, participating in lots of outreach, and learning from all of my new colleagues what makes W&J such a transformative place.”
Bowman was hired after a national search conducted by Napier Executive Search, working in conjunction with a W&J Search Committee chaired by Vice President for Enrollment Nicole Focareto and including Bob Adkins, Dean of Admission; Lori Galley, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics; Tom Szejko, AVP for Business & Finance; Leslie Maxin, Registrar; and Scott McGuinness, Director of Athletics.
She comes to W&J from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas where she served as the Director of Financial Aid. She has been working in financial aid for more than ten years for public and private colleges and universities and brings a passion for collaboration to her role wherever she serves. She is most proud of the following accomplishments:
- Modernized the 1.3 million dollar work-study program at St. Mary’s University through a campus-wide partnership with Human Resources and Payroll that provided more than 500 students with part-time jobs across 90 campus departments;
- Successfully brought the 1.7 million dollar outside scholarship program at Rice University into compliance for the first time in 30 years through a program overhaul and collaborative effort with the Finance and Development offices; and
- Partnered with Admissions and Recruitment to implement Lamar University’s first financial aid enrollment model resulting in flat FTIC enrollment after ten years of decline.
Bowman received a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University. She is active in several national and regional professional organizations, especially the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and the Texas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (TASFAA), and served on the Blue Icon’s New Directors Coaching Group in 2019.
