Jon Varnell serves as the Vice President for Administrative Operations and Chief Infrastructure Officer at UCF. In his role, Mr. Varnell is responsible for the university’s physical, digital, and auxiliary infrastructure and operations keep pace with the university’s growth, innovation, and long-term vision. He oversees UCF’s Facilities Operations; Planning, Design, and Construction (formerly Facilities Planning and Construction); Utilities and Engineering Services; Real Estate and Space Administration; Business Services; and UCFIT — ensuring that UCF’s built environment, technology infrastructure, and auxiliary operations are seamlessly integrated to support academic and research excellence.
Mr. Varnell has nearly 25 years of experience in higher education. Before joining UCF, he served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management at UNC Charlotte, where he led all facilities management operations; utilities and energy management; sustainability; capital planning, design and construction; engineering; real estate; space planning; and more, and oversaw nearly $250 million in capital projects.
He has also held leadership roles at Valpariso University and Guilford College as Vice President for Administration. Mr. Varnell has been an active participant in numerous industry associations and a key member of executive leadership teams at both public and private institutions.