Lander University's Information Technology Services has a new chief information and technology officer: Abdallah Haddad.
He has more than 24 years of experience in information technology in a higher education setting. For the past 12 years, he has served as the head of ITS and chief information and technology officer at Coastal Carolina University, leading the planning, development, and implementation of technology systems and infrastructure in support of university objectives. During his tenure at Coastal, the university experienced significant technological advancement.
Haddad will fill a similar role at Lander, leading ITS and assisting the university in the development of digital platforms that help it achieve its mission.
Haddad said that he has "been all over the place in the U.S." He originally left Syria to study at UNC-Charlotte. From 1987 to 1990, he was a soccer player at Coastal, which awarded him a B.S. in computer science. He also has an M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina-Columbia, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education administration at Coastal Carolina.
A "great transformation is taking place at Lander," according to Haddad. The university is making progress toward accomplishing its goals, in spite of a challenging environment for institutions of higher learning, and he looks forward to being part of it.
"This opportunity is tremendous," he said.
Haddad said that he hopes to "build great relationships with the people of Lander," and that he's already experienced the "great sense of community and family" for which Lander is known.
Haddad and his wife, Fatimah Najar, have two sons, Samir, 11, and Zayn, 8, and a daughter, Sara, who's one month old. They will make their home in Greenwood.