University of Virginia Library

Financial Office Comes Of Age

By Carroll Ladt

Peter Toms, New Director Of Office Of Financial Aid To Students

Office Handles More Than Million Dollars In Scholarship Funds Per Year

This is the first in a series of interviews
with Faculty and Administration
to find out their jobs and their
problems.

Tucked away in three small
cubicals on one side of the Rotunda
is the office of Financial
Aid To Students. These rooms,
under the direction of Peter Toms,
who succeeded Robert Canevari
this year, handle one and a half-million
dollars a year and see
more students than anywhere except
the offices of the Dean of the
College.

Recently The Cavalier Daily interviewed
Mr. Toms in order to
find out more about his office and
its functions.

"Exactly what the office does
is this," said Mr. Toms, "we
administer Federal as well as University
scholarships and loans and
operate the Federal work-study
program."

What is now known as the Office
of Financial Aid was only a
short time ago part of the placement
office in Minor Hall. Under
the direction of one man and his
secretary, it distributed scholarships
on a far more unscientific
basis than today's staff which is
composed of a director, two assistant
directors and a large secretarial
staff.

This change has come about
mainly in the last two years, "At
last we are coming of age;" commented
the new director, "we have
enough people to handle the ever-increasing
burden of the federal
government, the University, and
the students."

The office is divided into three
sections with Mr. Toms handling
scholarships, Mrs. H. Conrad
Warlick the student aid and placement,
and Charles Wheeler loans.

Scholarship applicants, from all
the schools of the University except
nursing, number in the thousands
and are screened for need
and academic achievement. This
examination is carried out with
the help of C.E.E.B. College scholarship
Service which checks
finances. Routine awards are then
made by Mr. Toms, but entering
students and special cases are examined
by the University Committee
on Scholarships which is
directly over the Office of Financial
Aid. The major scholarships are:
Honor Award Scholarship (several
$100,000 principal), DuPont Regional
Scholarship ($200,000 income),
regular University Scholarships
($300,000 income), Federal
Educational Opportunity Grant
($100,000) and miscellaneous
scholarships ($50,000).

Loans are made to all schools
and primarily consist of National
Defense Student Loans, totaling
some $400,000. In addition to
scholarships and loans is the
Federal Work-Study Program
which provides jobs for students.
Under this program the government
pays 75 per cent of the student's
salary and the facility hiring
pays 25 per cent.

One of the major problems which
faces the office is trying to determine
the domicile of a student
who wonders whether he is considered
a resident of Virginia. Approximately
40 per cent of the
entering class has some question to
be decided about their in-state
status, and this often becomes
extremely technical.

Mr. Toms, however, finds the
work "extremely gratifying and my
contact with the students rich and
varied."