DePaul’s vice president for Student Affairs Eugene Zdziarski, known widely as “Veep Gene” will retire in January after more than ten years of service to the university. Zdziarski’s retirement was announced to the DePaul community in a Newsline email on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
Zdziarski began his role at DePaul in July 2014, bringing nearly 25 years of experience in higher education with him. Arriving at DePaul from a previous role as vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Roanoke College, Zdziarski also previously served as assistant vice president and dean of students at the University of Florida and as associate director of student life at Texas A&M University.
In an email to the DePaul community from University Communications on Sept. 25, Zdziarski said “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 also expressed gratitude for his part in developing traditions and “bringing synergy to various student life efforts.” He said that he is grateful that “DePaul is the capstone to my career.”
During his time as vice president for Student Affairs, Zdziarski notably guided the division during the creation of four student identity and cultural centers in 2017. Additionally, he played a part in establishing traditions such as “On Thursdays we Wear Blue,” Midnight Breakfast, Ugly Sweater Party and Blue Demon Welcome.
Zdziarksi is a nationally recognized leader on campus safety and crisis management. At DePaul, he led his division through several tumultuous times in higher education, including large-scale protests in support of Gaza, the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2016 presidential election.
“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 … His passion for our students and advocacy on their behalf will be greatly missed”, said Provost Salma Ghanem in the Sept. 25 Newsline announcement.
According to Newsline, an interim vice president for Student Affairs will be named soon, and a national search will be conducted to name Zdziarski’s successor once he officially retires in January.
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