DePaul Names New VP for Student Affairs

DePaul University

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Gene Zdziarski as our next vice president for student affairs. Gene will be joining DePaul on July 1 and brings with him more than 25 years of experience in higher education. His wife, Catherine, will be joining him in Chicago.

Gene is vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Roanoke College, a private liberal arts college with approximately 2,000 full-time students in Salem, Va. Before that, he served as assistant vice president and dean of students for seven years at the University of Florida, with a student body of 50,000. He also served as associate director of student life at Texas A&M University, where he worked for 15 years in various roles serving nearly 50,000 students.

Gene is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, earned his master’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee and received his Ph.D. in educational administration from Texas A&M. He is a nationally recognized expert on campus safety issues and has co-authored a book on crisis management.

Gene received high marks in the interview process for his success in building relationships across the institutions he has served and for his emphasis on collaboration. The search committee was impressed by his deep commitment to fostering academic achievement and students’ individual development.

Many impressive candidates applied for this position. I thank the search committee, chaired by the Rev. Edward Udovic, C.M., senior executive for university mission, university secretary and vice president for teaching and learning resources, for dedicating extensive time and expertise to this important task.

I also would like to thank Cindy Summers for serving as Student Affairs’ interim leader since Jim Doyle’s retirement in July 2012. Due to her capable leadership, Student Affairs has not missed a beat in serving our students.

We look forward to welcoming Gene to the DePaul family.

Sincerely,

Patricia O’Donoghue
Interim Provost

Source: Email, February 28, 2014, DePaul University, Provost Office