Don Betterton
Robin Moscato
Photos: Denise Applewhite
Don Betterton, Princeton's longtime director of undergraduate
financial aid, will retire on June 30 and will be succeeded by Robin
Moscato, a 23-year member of his staff.
"Don Betterton is one of the most highly respected -- indeed, probably
the most highly respected -- financial aid directors in the country,"
said Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel. "For more than 30 years, he has
led the undergraduate financial aid office with consummate professional
judgment, outstanding analytic ability and managerial skill, innovative
and creative thinking, and the steadiest of hands.
"In recent years, Don has been the architect of Princeton's remarkable
financial aid program, widely regarded as the best in the nation," she
continued. "Having a strong financial aid program is absolutely
essential to enrolling and retaining a highly qualified and diverse
student body. We are exceptionally fortunate to have benefited for so
long from Don's wonderful colleagueship and wise leadership."
Betterton became director of financial aid in 1974 and has overseen the
office during a period of unprecedented growth. In 1973-74, there were
1,612 scholarship students at Princeton receiving a total of $3.4
million. This year, there are 2,375 scholarship students receiving $65
million. The University currently enrolls a record 51 percent of
undergraduates on financial aid.
Under Betterton's guidance, the University began making significant
changes to its financial aid policies in 1998-99. Most well known among
the initiatives is Princeton's unique no-loan policy, under which the
University replaced loans in its financial aid packages with grants,
which need not be repaid.
Additional aid innovations that have set Princeton apart from other
universities are: a need-blind policy for international students; the
removal of the value of the family home in the formula that measures
need; and the treatment of family assets in a way that does not
penalize parents for saving in a student's name.
The aid office
also has made efforts to be more "customer" friendly. Princeton is the
only college in the Ivy League that does not charge a fee to apply for
financial aid and that offers a simple online "Early Estimator" for families to get a preliminary idea of how much aid they might receive.
Betterton has made contributions to other areas of the University as
well. A 1960 Dartmouth graduate and former soccer player there, he has
helped coach various Princeton soccer teams since he arrived on campus.
His involvement includes coaching the men's junior varsity and freshman
teams, starting the women's varsity program and, for the last 15 years,
assisting with the men's varsity.
For his leadership of the financial aid office as well as his service
to the University, Betterton has received the Marvin Bressler Award for
outstanding support of Princeton's athletes and coaches and the Alumni
Council award for service to Princeton. He also has been made an
honorary member of the classes of 1960 and 2005.
Outside of Princeton, Betterton is considered a national leader in the
field of student financial aid. He has served as a trustee of the
College Board, the chair of the Policy Committee of the Consortium on
Financing Higher Education and the chair of various committees within
the College Scholarship Service. In recognition of his longtime
association with the College Board, he was named to the College
Scholarship Service Hall of Fame in 2004.
Prior to coming to Princeton, Betterton served on active duty as a
naval aviator for eight years, eventually retiring with the rank of
captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
"It is hard to believe I have been in this position at Princeton for 32
years," Betterton said. "I had thought that five years would be a good
length of time to remain in one position, but I seem to have exceeded
that limit many times over. I am very proud of what we have been able
to accomplish during my tenure in the financial aid office. At the
present time I think it is fair to say that, in spite of the high cost
of tuition, our aid policies make it possible for any able student to
attend Princeton regardless of his or her financial situation, and in
most cases to do this without taking out a loan."
Moscato, a 1980 graduate of Rutgers University, joined Princeton's aid
office in 1983 as an assistant director. She was promoted to associate
director in 1986 and made senior associate director in 2001. She has
been responsible for designing and implementing a unique cost-saving
online aid application along with a number of processing and reporting
systems. Her work to make the operation more efficient has enabled the
office to handle a 33 percent increase in student volume without a
change in staff size.
Like Betterton, Moscato also serves the University outside of the aid
office. From 1991 to 1995, she chaired the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Task
Force that helped Princeton establish benefits for domestic partners.
She currently is a member of the Child Care Working Group appointed by
President Shirley M. Tilghman to plan for a significant expansion and
improvement of child care at the University. She also serves on the
board of directors of the Princeton Friends School.
"Over nearly a quarter century in our financial aid office, Robin
Moscato has demonstrated an exceptional capacity to build, lead and
innovate," Malkiel said. "As Don Betterton's principal partner, she has
participated actively in shaping Princeton's extraordinary financial
aid program. She knows the Princeton aid system inside out; she is
highly respected in and beyond the financial aid office; and she has an
abundant supply of creative imagination, analytic skill, professional
judgment and managerial experience. She is exactly the right leader for
the next era of financial aid at Princeton."
A national search to fill Moscato's position is under way.
