Jean Bednarz

Chief of Staff to the Vice President

Photo of Jean BednarzJean Bednarz serves as Chief of Staff to the Vice President for Student Life. In this role, she is responsible for the overall management of the Office of the Vice President for Student Life, overseeing its many essential administrative operations and functions. Bednarz is a vital partner of the vice president and advances the strategic priorities of university student life.

Over the past 15 years, Bednarz has collaborated with higher education and corporate leadership teams to manage strategic projects and programs, lead business operations, build high-performing teams, and structure communications and change management strategies. As the Chief of Staff to the Vice Chancellor for Finance at UC Berkeley, Bednarz led operations of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and designed organizational transformation initiatives to enable financial process and system innovation. Before Bednarz’s higher education career, she led initiatives to grow assets-under management and personalize the online client experience at Vanguard.

Bednarz holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Swarthmore College, and will graduate with an Executive Master of Business Administration degree from the USC Marshall School of Business in August 2024.