Phyllis Kleder Hooyman, director of financial aid at Hope College, has been appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm to an additional term on the Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority (MHEAA).
MHEAA administers state and federal scholarship, grant and loan programs. Created in 1960, MHEAA is an agency in the state's Department of Education and consists of 15 members appointed by the governor and one ex-officio member, the state treasurer, who serves as the chairman.
Hooyman has served on MHEAA since 2004. She is serving as vice chair pro tem of the authority.
A member of the Hope staff since 1974 and director of financial aid since 1984, Hooyman has been active in college financial aid issues on the state, regional and national levels. Among other professional activities, she has served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., where she has also addressed Senate and House committees concerning financial aid issues; is a past chair of the National Direct Student Loan Coalition; and is a past president of the Michigan Student Financial Aid Association.
She received the Meritorious Service Award from the Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in 1991. Earlier this spring, she received the college's eighth annual "Vanderbush-Weller Development Fund" award for strong, positive impact on students. She is a 1973 Hope graduate.