Eugene L. Zdziarski serves food at the Midnight Breakfast, an event he helped establish. (Photo by Jeff Carrion/DePaul University)Eugene L. Zdziarski, II, PhD, will retire from DePaul effective Jan. 1, 2025 after serving as vice president for Student Affairs for over a decade.
Zdziarski joined DePaul as vice president in July 2014, bringing more than 25 years of experience as a student affairs professional. During his tenure Zdziarski oversaw the building of new traditions, established student persistence and success as a divisional focus and managed significant growth of the unit in the last three years.
“As a first-generation college student myself, I was drawn to DePaul and it has been my pleasure to serve all of DePaul’s students for the past 10 years — particularly marginalized students,” Zdziarski says. “Coming to DePaul not only provided me with a wonderful opportunity in an amazing city, but also the chance to be close to family. I am grateful I was a part of developing some special traditions and bringing synergy to various student life efforts here, and that DePaul is the capstone to my career.”
Known for his commitment to collaboration and student success, Zdziarski guided the division when four student identity and cultural centers were created in 2017. Also early in his tenure he played a part in establishing new traditions at DePaul, such as ‘On Thursdays we Wear Blue,’ the Midnight Breakfast, Ugly Sweater Party and Blue Demon Welcome.
Zdziarski was at the helm when the Academic Continuity and Engagement program was launched in 2019 and then became a department in 2021. Another example of his commitment to student success, he has served as a co-chair of the Student Success Collaborative at DePaul since 2020.
A nationally recognized expert on campus safety issues and crisis management, Vice President Zdziarski navigated Student Affairs through some tumultuous times in higher education, including the 2016 presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Israel-Hamas War. During the pandemic, Zdziarski served as the senior administrative lead on the university’s community health team.
“While Gene’s contributions over the last 10 years to DePaul are many, I have been most impressed by his unwavering commitment to our students,” says Salma Ghanem, provost. “His passion for our students and advocacy on their behalf will be greatly missed.”
Prior to DePaul, Zdziarski was vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Roanoke College, assistant vice president and dean of students at the University of Florida and associate director of student life at Texas A&M University, among other roles.
There will be a national search for the next vice president for Student Affairs and an interim will be named soon. More details will be shared at a later date.