By Michael Kelley ’14

Photo courtesy of Ashley Bianchi

Ashley Bianchi has been hired as Lafayette’s new Director of Student Financial Aid. Beginning July 1, she will replace ArlinaDeNardo, who will become a senior gift officer in the Development and Alumni Relations Department.

Bianchi boasts a wide array of experience in an undergraduate environment, most recently working as the Director of Financial Aid at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee while also maintaining her duties as the president of the Tennessee Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

“Ashley Bianchi is clearly a rising star in the financial aid profession,” said Greg MacDonald, Lafayette’s Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid.

Carol Rowlands, the Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, was a member of the committee that selected Bianchi and said she “clearly has the respect of her peers.”
Bianchi graduated from Mississippi State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in educational psychology. Bianchi then went on to the University of South Carolina and earned a Master of Education in higher education and student affairs in 2011.

DeNardo’s new role will involve fundraising for scholarships and financial aid.

“I cannot think of anyone better qualified at Lafayette College to fulfill this critical need,” MacDonald said.