Mr. Norm Bedford, Chair of the Advisory Committee, was appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 2008 to serve a term that expires in September 2012. Mr. Bedford currently serves as the Director of Financial Aid at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He has worked in the financial aid profession since 1989. Prior to joining UNLV, he worked for Bowling Green State University, Eastern Illinois University, and The Ohio State University. While living in the Midwest, Mr. Bedford remained active within the Ohio and Illinois Associations of Student Financial Aid Administrators. He has provided numerous training sessions at conferences on a variety of financial aid topics and has been a member, chair, or co-chair of many committees. He was also a two-time National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) trainer regarding the federal work study community service program, consortium agreements, and professional judgment. Mr. Bedford holds a BS in family resource management from The Ohio State University. He also holds an MEd in guidance and counseling from Eastern Illinois University for which he wrote a quantitative thesis entitled, “An exploration of the financial aid application errors committed by students diagnosed as learning disabled.”
Dr. Helen Benjamin, Vice Chair of the Advisory Committee, was appointed by the Speaker of the House in 2008 to serve a term that expires in September 2012. She is in her 7th year as Chancellor of the Contra Costa Community College District, one of the largest multi-college districts in California, and is the first community college appointee to this committee. Dr. Benjamin enjoys the challenges of developing programs and policies that contribute to the 62-year tradition of education excellence in the Contra Costa Community College District, and the success of all community college students nationwide. She began her education career teaching English in the Dallas Independent School District, and is proud of her lifelong career in serving students. Her leadership also extends to community college issues at the state and federal levels including the convener of the Presidents' Round Table, a national network of African American community college CEOs, American Council on Education Commission on Effective Leadership, and the Chief Executive Officers of the California Community Colleges. Dr. Benjamin's commitment to the Contra Costa County community is evident through her civic involvement with the Mechanics Bank Community Development Corporation Advisory Board, Contra Costa County Workforce Development Board, John Muir Physician Network Board, and the Kennedy-King Memorial College Scholarship Fund, LTD. Dr. Benjamin has a BS degree in English and Spanish from Bishop College in Texas where she graduated magna cum laude. She earned masters and doctoral degrees from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas.
Mr. David L. Gruen was appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 2009 to serve a term that expires in September 2013. Mr. Gruen has been in the financial aid profession for 37 years, and, currently, is semi-retired, doing consulting work for colleges and universities in financial aid operations. He retired as Director of Financial Aid at the University of Wyoming in 2010, a position he held for seven years. Mr. Gruen was chair of the 2008-09 NASFAA Board of Directors and has also served as president of the Southwest Regional and the Oklahoma and Wyoming State Associations of Student Financial Aid Administrators, having been the first national chair from Wyoming. Prior to serving at the University of Wyoming, Mr. Gruen held the position of Director of Student Financial Services at the University of Denver, and Director of Student Financial Aid at the University of Tulsa, at Alfred University in New York, and at Southeastern Community College in North Carolina.
Mr. Anthony J. Guida Jr. was appointed by the Speaker of the House in 2008 to serve a term that expires in September 2012. Mr. Guida currently serves as Senior Vice President of Strategic Development and Regulatory Affairs at Education Management LLC (EDMC). Mr. Guida directs accreditation and regulatory support for EDMC's 93 school locations for all six regional higher education accreditation agencies, two national higher education accrediting agencies, multiple specialized accrediting agencies, and more than two dozen states and Canadian provinces. EDMC educational institutions include The Art Institutes, Argosy University, Brown Mackie Colleges, and South University. Recently, Mr. Guida was re-elected to the Board of the Career Colleges Association where he co-chairs its Federal Affairs Committee. He earned a JD from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, holds a BS in accounting from the University of Dayton, and has passed the CPA licensure examination.
Ms. Kathleen Hoyer was appointed by the Secretary of Education in 2009 to serve a term that expires in September 2013. Ms. Hoyer is the Advisory Committee's student member, and she was awarded a master's degree in education policy studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, in May 2011. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in the same field at College Park. Her research interests focus on the creation and implementation of federal education policy, especially with respect to both the interaction of federal policy with state- and district-level policy and the impact of federal policy on students from historically marginalized populations. In 2009, she served as a legislative fellow in the office of Maryland State Delegate Anne Kaiser, chair of the Education Subcommittee in Maryland's House of Delegates. Ms. Hoyer received her bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. William T. Luckey Jr. was appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 2009 to serve a term that expires in September 2013. On July 1, 1998, Dr. Luckey became the eighth president of Lindsey Wilson College. He has served Lindsey Wilson since 1983, holding the positions Vice President for Enrollment Management, Vice President for Development, and Vice President for Administration and Finance. As president of one of Kentucky's fastest-growing and most diverse independent liberal arts colleges, Dr. Luckey leads a faculty and staff of more than 300 and a student body of more than 2,300. The college's annual budget is more than $41 million. The focus of President Luckey's administration is to continue Lindsey Wilson's development as a liberal arts, church-related college that is distinguished for being one of the best undergraduate teaching colleges in the nation. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, President Luckey holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Wabash College, a master's degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, and a doctorate in higher education administration from Vanderbilt's prestigious Peabody College. He has published and lectured widely on the subject of the “scholarship of teaching.” President Luckey has served as a commissioner for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), been a member of the Committees on Compliance and Reports, and has chaired several on-site and off-site accreditation visits. President Luckey is married to the former Elise Hendrickson of Oldham County, Kentucky. They have three daughters: Joanne, Chelsea, and Kaitie.
Mr. John F. McNamara was appointed by the Secretary of Education in 2009 to serve a term that expires in September 2013. He is the Vice President for College Development at Rockford College, in Rockford, Illinois. Prior to his tenure in development, Mr. McNamara joined the College as an assistant to the president and then as the director of the Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement. Before his involvement with Rockford College, he worked at a private law firm and a real estate investment firm. Mr. McNamara has a strong history in public service, which includes serving in the U.S. Army, as an assistant public defender for the County of Winnebago, and as a city council member and then mayor of the City of Rockford. He is also very involved in his community and his church, St. Peter Cathedral, and multiple boards and committees. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Notre Dame, and a law degree from The University of Michigan. John and his wife, Barbara were married in 1965 and have six children.
Ms. Deborah Stanley was appointed by the Speaker of the House in 2010 to serve a term that expires in 2014. Ms. Stanley currently serves as the Director of Financial Aid at the oldest historically black university in Maryland and one of the ten oldest in the country, Bowie State University, located in Bowie, Maryland. Ms. Stanley has more than 20 years of financial aid experience in both the private and public sectors. Over her career in financial aid, she has served in many capacities, including financial aid counselor, assistant director, and, prior to arriving at Bowie State University, as associate director at the University of Baltimore. She is an active member of DE-DC-MD Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the Eastern Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Ms. Stanley received her bachelor's degree in psychology and her master's degree in administrative management from Bowie State University.
Mrs. Sharon Wurm was appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 2010 to serve a term that expires in 2014. Mrs. Wurm has had a lengthy career in student financial aid, and in June of 2011 rejoined the staff at Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) as the Director of Financial Aid. In her current position, she oversees financial aid, scholarships, student employment, and veterans educational services. Mrs. Wurm has 22 years of experience in financial aid with the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), most recently working for five years at the NSHE System Administration Office as Director of Financial Aid. Prior to working at the System Administration Office, she worked for ten years at TMCC and for seven years at the University of Nevada, Reno, all in financial aid. In addition to her financial aid responsibilities, she serves as the campus-wide functional co-lead for TMCC’s PeopleSoft system, as the Nevada State Liaison for Complete College America, and as a member of the Nevada Statewide ACT Council. She is a member of several financial aid associations, and volunteers with the local Boys & Girls Club, helping low-income youth access college and apply for financial aid and scholarships, as well as serving as a mentor under their “Be Great Graduate” program. Mrs. Wurm holds an MS in counseling and educational psychology and a BS in business administration (computer information systems emphasis), both from the University of Nevada, Reno. She has been married for 28 years to her husband Mike, and they have two children, Megan, a college freshman, and Zach, a high school sophomore. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, going to sporting events, and is an avid reader.
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance
This page last modified— February 6, 2012 (js)