After holding the position of Financial Aid Director at Washburn since July 1, 1997, Annita Huff retired December 15.

Prior to her time to Washburn, Huff was part of the USA Group in the Kansas office. She also was involved at Kansas State University and University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Throughout her many years of financial experience, Huff received numerous awards and honors for her endeavors and was often commended for the work she did.

“She’s developed a wonderful foundation for our office,” said Gail Palmer, Associate Director of Financial Aid. “We’re always working as a team, and we’ve continued to do so, because of what [Huff] did during her time here,”

Huff had many qualifications during her time at Washburn, and she also helped the university advance. Recent woes in the banking industry, along with a significant transitional point in technology and communication, were just some of what Huff dealt with on a regular basis. She also played a vital role in helping Washburn to become a direct lender of loans to students for financial aid, and she helped with the transition from paper to electronic within the financial aid office.

“Annita always seemed to know what was going to happen in the banking industry before it even happened,” said Ellis. “She foresaw things before they got bad and always made sure what she did was the right move.”

Huff’s retirement has left the job of Financial Aid Director vacant at this point. The ongoing search for a new director is underway, but no information has been released as to who the candidates are, or if any have been chosen yet. No date is set as to when the new director will be chosen.

“With what was done in the time that [Huff] was here, there are some big shoes to fill for the next director who comes in,” said Ellis. “They’re going to have to be ready.”

With her retirement official, Huff now has numerous awards and honors to look back on in retrospect, and she can remember with pride the groups to which she belonged. While some bring great light to their accomplishments, Ellis and Palmer agreed that Huff was always very gracious about the things she did.