On December 12, we lost a dedicated colleague, a dear friend and a creative spirit with the passing of Anita Collins.
Collins, who came to ITS in March 2010 as the Change Management lead for ConnectCarolina, had been away battling cancer since summer 2022.
When it became clear that only weeks remained, co-workers, friends and family ensured that Collins knew she made a difference in their lives and that she was loved and admired. ITS colleagues cited her calm demeanor and professionalism, how she brightened the room with her smile, grace and spirit, and how they enjoyed Collins’ talents and creativity and conversations about writing.
Passions were writing and music
Collins loved writing short stories, several of which were published. She was invited to attend several writing workshops and happily talked about the writing process with anyone who was interested. Collins also loved music. Her husband of 33 years, Wes, is a successful musician, and Collins often invited friends to attend his local performances.
“When I worked late, I often listened to music in my office,” recalled Maribel Carrion, Executive Director of Student Administration and Enterprise Reporting at ITS Enterprise Applications. “Anita, whose office was on the other side of my wall, would tell me that the music let her know she wasn’t working alone. She and I spent many a late hour talking about anything and everything.”
Collins also expressed her creativity by making pottery. While ill, she was starting to set up a studio at home.
Collins applied her creativity — particularly her writing talent — to use “her words to make the lives of people at UNC a little easier,” said Brenda Carpen, Director of ITS Project Portfolio & Change Management.
In 2021, Collins and her staff transitioned from Enterprise Applications to Carpen’s team. She reported to Carpen and led change for all ITS.
“It was truly a gift to know her,” Carpen said.
A leader in change management
Collins was a leader in the field of change management at UNC, holding Certified Change Management Professional and Prosci certifications. She introduced ITS to the discipline of change management as Enterprise Applications moved the campus over to the ConnectCarolina integrated management system. Collins expanded UNC’s change management practice by nurturing her five team members and by sharing her knowledge of change management with her colleagues in ITS and other UNC divisions, including Human Resources and Finance.
Change Management is a field dedicated to preparing, supporting and equipping individuals for change, in ITS specifically for technology change. “Anita excelled in her role. Her deep empathy and care for others enabled her to easily step into the shoes of our campus community, preparing them for significant change,” Carpen said.
One of Collins’ last efforts was a review and edit of all ITS polices to improve readability and understanding of those policies.
‘Worked tirelessly’
When Collins came to ITS in 2010, Enterprise Applications had launched the first ConnectCarolina module, for student administration, the year before. Collins supported the rollout of that functionality to student services managers in the professional schools.
She became the manager of a team of change management and training professionals to ensure campus was ready for the October 2014 launch of the ConnectCarolina finance and human resources/payroll modules. Under her leadership, Collins’ team organized, led and executed a comprehensive plan to ensure staff members were ready for the changes that were coming during the massive multi-year project.
Collins led the creation and delivery of training, all project-related communications, and project meetings with campus. She worked closely with senior Finance, HR and ITS leaders in addition to change management and communication teams from Human Resources and Finance.
Collins “worked tirelessly and very effectively to ensure all these important pieces were done,” said Don Hepp, Senior Director for Enterprise Application Development and Project Management. “She and her team continued to work closely with the project team and leadership post go-live to capture feedback, which allowed the ConnectCarolina team to make changes to help users.”
Organized 700-person conference
In 2018, Collins orchestrated Enterprise Applications’ creation and hosting of the ConnectCarolina User Conference. The successful event, which drew the capacity limit of nearly 700 participants, speakers, volunteers and vendors, taught and connected participants and gave Enterprise Applications valuable information for improving applications, said Mechelle Clayton, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enterprise Applications.
In addition to the user conference, Collins led numerous events such as “most” lunches to assist with gathering valuable information on user experience to guide Enterprise Applications on prioritizing enhancements.