This month, the Office of Information Technology is celebrating Melanie Fairfax, IT Contracts Manager. Melanie works in the IT Administration department and has been with Fordham for 23 years. Throughout their time at Fordham, they have worked on many interesting projects and developed both professionally and personally. To honor the contributions of Melanie we are sharing a little about their story.
How long have you been employed at Fordham, and what roles have you held?
23 years as a full time employee in May 2025. I began as a Data Entry Clerk for the Graduate School of Business Admissions Office. I then moved to the Division of Curriculum and Teaching at the Graduate School of Education as a Senior Secretary and was promoted to Field Specialist Coordinator before joining the IT Department as an Executive Secretary. I was promoted to my current position as Contract Manager and have held this position for four years.
What’s the day-to-day of your role like?
I onboard new vendors and manage current vendor contracts, including hardware and software license agreements, master service agreements, and master service general agreements renewals. Additionally, I manage the daily operations for the IT Administration at Dealy Hall and IT spaces at Lincoln Center, handling various requests for the IT staff and executive staff as needed.
What is your proudest accomplishment in IT and/or life in general?
Collaborating with Strategic Sourcing in the successful implementation of the procurement management system, Jaggaer. I served as the initial contract administrator tester, assisting in troubleshooting any system anomalies that may have occurred during the contract onboarding process, advised on process improvements, and assisted various department contract administrators on best practices for contract review.
When you are not working, what are some passion projects/hobbies/activities that you’re involved in?
I like to remain active as much as possible. I have a dedicated gym routine I follow weekly to help manage stress and stay active. I enjoy dancing, hiking, and generally being outdoors in nature. I also enjoy gardening and one day aspire to own land to plant and raise some animals on.
How have you grown professionally while on our team?
I have been able to acquire a new skill set in contract management that would normally be outside the purview of my initial business operations responsibilities. Prior to my time at IT, I was unaware of contract management as a professional field and have learned a great deal of useful skills such as time and resource management, competitive pricing, market research, government regulations, negotiation, interdepartmental communication and collaboration, vendor management, and risk management, just to name a few.
What is the most unique part about working at Fordham?
There are always opportunities to learn, should you choose to take advantage of it. I was blessed enough that Fordham provided me with a solid education for both my Bachelors and Masters degrees. For that, I am forever grateful.
What is something fun or interesting that not many people know about you?
Something I truly enjoy is cooking. There’s nothing more fulfilling than preparing meals for my family and friends and seeing the joy it brings to them.
This interview was conducted as part of the Office of Information Technology’s SpotlITe series, in which we highlight staff members who have meaningfully contributed to IT, Fordham, and beyond.