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Jessica Zychowicz, Ph.D.

Senior Director, Global Initiatives

Jessica Zychowicz, Ph.D.

Profile

Jessica Zychowicz, Ph.D., is the Senior Director, Global Initiatives at UC San Diego. Prior to joining Global Initiatives in August 2026, she served as the Director of Fulbright Ukraine and the Institute of International Education's (IIE) International Office Europe/Kyiv from 2021 to 2026. Her commitment to global engagement began early in her career as a U.S. Peace Corps TEFL volunteer in Ukraine from 2005 to 2007. 
 
An accomplished scholar, Dr. Zychowicz has held prestigious roles including a U.S. Fulbright Scholar at Kyiv Mohyla Academy, a Research Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Visiting Scholar positions at the University of Alberta and Uppsala University in Sweden. She is the author of an award-winning monograph published by University of Toronto Press and the editor of Freedom Taking Place: War, Women and Culture at the Intersection of Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus. Dr. Zychowicz holds a doctorate from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley. 
 
In her role as Senior Director, Dr. Zychowicz reports to Dr. Tamara Cunningham, Associate Vice Chancellor for Global Initiatives and ArtsConnect and Activation, serve as the deputy senior international officer for Global Initiatives, and provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for our global engagement portfolio.
 
In collaboration with the AVC, Dr. Zychowicz’s duties include: 
  • Leading strategic direction for international partnerships, education abroad programs, international exchanges, and faculty-led initiatives.
  • Collaborating with faculty, colleges, and global centers to integrate global learning and scholarly exchange into institutional priorities.
  • Overseeing centralized operational units focused on global partnerships, student advising, regulatory compliance, and mobility management.
  • Providing strategic oversight for institutional services supporting international students, international faculty and visiting scholars.
  • Managing the human and financial resources necessary to scale UC San Diego’s global footprint and international partnership strategy.