This month, the Office of Information Technology celebrates Nicole Zeidan, Assistant Director of Emerging Educational Technology and Learning Space Design.
Nicole leads the Emerging Educational Technologies & Learning Spaces Design team under the Educational Technologies and Research Computing department. She has been with Fordham for 12.5 years. Throughout her time within the newly developed emerging edtech unit, she has worked on many interesting projects and developed professionally and personally. We are sharing a little about her story to honor Nicole’s contributions.
How long have you been employed at Fordham, and what roles have you held?
In July, I will have been working at Fordham for 13 years. In my time, I’ve held various roles all over IT, though I mostly worked in forward-facing capacities, helping the community and collaborating across departments.
I began working in roles related to client support training. I worked on fun projects like collaborating with the Gabelli School of Business during the opening of Hughes Hall, where I trained support staff and oversaw student workers and Student Technology Services, including new student and employee orientation.
Throughout those experiences, I developed a passion for training, which led me to transition into the realm of educational technologies. Working closely with faculty members, I discovered a newfound enthusiasm for online course development and began managing the Faculty Technology Center at Rose Hill and supervising student employees. I have also facilitated tech shops for faculty members, collaborated with the Graduate School of Religious Studies, and contributed to designing online courses and programming across multiple schools. Serving as a liaison for the London Centre for a few years, I also provided training as a Blackboard administrator and addressed classroom needs.
During my time supporting faculty and working with the Faculty Technology Center, the idea of establishing a Learning Commons was developed under the academic technology department at the time, with the vision and a grant received by the Associate Vice President of Educational Technology Research Computing. This is how the Learning Innovation Technology Center (L.I.T.E.) originated. After the IT reorganization, my focus was shifted towards emerging technologies and designing learning spaces, a transition that came to the forefront following the onset of the pandemic.
What’s the day-to-day of your role like?
My day-to-day responsibilities entail straddling strategy and operations across campuses and fulfilling projects and requests from the Fordham community, the AVP, and the CIO. In addition to ongoing special projects with groups across Fordham, I assist faculty and student walk-ins to the LITE center from the community. This includes managing classes held in the LITE Center using emerging technologies for their academic work. Another part of my daily role involves overseeing staff and maintaining relations that include various committees, the library, who also utilize our services, and the IT Service Desk. We recently collaborated with the library on a special museum project for 3D scanning and 3D printing a life-size ancient statue at a museum.
What is your proudest accomplishment in IT and/or life in general?
My proudest accomplishment is the joy I derive from helping people and witnessing the end results that bring happiness to others. Working alongside my dedicated team, composed of Nicola Terzulli, two GAs, and our student workers (also known as LITE techs), fills me with pride. It’s immensely fulfilling to have fun, continually learn, and implement new skills while providing a spotlight and necessary resources to support their growth. Witnessing projects come to fruition is gratifying, and it is a joy to observe my team innovate, be creative, explore emerging technologies, and find new ways to apply them within our university community. Providing them with an experiential workspace where they can enjoy what they do and learn from it themselves greatly adds to this sense of accomplishment.
What passion projects/hobbies/activities are you involved in when you are not working?
When I’m not working, I’m deeply immersed in my passion for teaching. I teach a class at Fordham’s Graduate School of Education in which we explore integrated instructional practices that support multilingual and transliteracy learning, fostering collaborative and interdisciplinary environments. In addition to teaching at Fordham, I also teach a master’s course at NYU titled “Strategic Management of Technological Innovation,” a course designed to equip students with the skills needed to navigate the strategic planning landscape in technology-driven organizations.
What is the most unique part about working at Fordham?
The most unique aspect of working at Fordham is the incredible staff who are not only supportive but care so much. It is a very collaborative environment where we can work across various departments and disciplines within the university. This interconnectedness allows us to extend our reach to other areas and create meaningful networks across the entire university.
What is something fun or interesting that not many people know about you?
Something fun and interesting about me that not many people know is that I’m a big foodie and movie enthusiast. I find immense joy in both baking and watching films, especially with my niece and nephews. When it comes to baking, my absolute favorites are crafting cakes and making cookies entirely from scratch (when I have the time). As for movies, I enjoy the theater experience and my favorite types of movies to watch are horror, action, and thrillers.
This interview was conducted as part of the Office of Information Technology’s Staff Highlight series, in which we feature staff members who have meaningfully contributed to IT, Fordham, and beyond.