New Director of Technology Support

Information Technology Services announced that Nykolus "Nyk" Vail will serve as the new director of technology support, beginning August 30, 2024. This is a new director position that will focus on IT customer service, classroom technology and classroom support and bring the teams in those areas into one unit. Funding for this position came from the eISU director position vacated last fall.

Vail will come to Idaho State University with 17 years experience working in higher education. Vail's prior positions include: product manager, support coordinator/manager, and director of classroom and lab technologies at BYU-Idaho. Vail was a central figure on the project to consolidate products and systems used for video and web conferencing across the BYU-Idaho campus to Zoom. He managed the project implementations, ongoing support, road mapping, and maintenance for servers and systems controlling the BYU-I campus technology equipment in classrooms, conference rooms, labs, and digital signage. Vail also managed a team of full-time staff supporting approximately 900 faculty and more than 300 classrooms.

In a letter to ISU, Vail noted; “During my tenure as the director of classroom and lab technologies at BYU-Idaho, I actively contributed to the provision of technology support, addressing both hardware and software needs for end-users over numerous years. I have had the privilege to mentor both part-time and full-time employees, instilling in them the values of exceptional customer service and ownership in their roles. My passion lies in implementing effective and efficient technologies within higher education settings. I firmly believe that individuals with diverse backgrounds and visions can achieve remarkable outcomes when united in pursuit of the learning and growth inherent in higher education institutions.”

Conversations with coworkers and associates indicate Vail has developed a reputation for being customer-centric and action-oriented, while fostering an atmosphere of trust with everyone he associates with. Vail is also a highly regarded mentor and leader.