When we think of University employees, we picture them conducting their day-to-day work in support of the campus community. Some staff members, though, tackle a whole extra layer of work related to their service to Carolina.
ITS’ Gina Fogelsonger is one such employee. Fogelsonger, senior program and project manager at ITS Enterprise Applications, has worked in the IT industry for more than 35 years. In her job for ITS, she leverages those decades of experience through leading and managing people, change, projects, programs and portfolios.
Leading within global organization
Fogelsonger also applies her experience and knowledge to serve as a leader within a global organization of people who use enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other systems or software that support or enhance higher education institutions. That organization is the Higher Education User Group (HEUG), which serves about 36,500 members from more than 1,000 institutions. UNC is a long-time member of the HEUG.
After several years of volunteering for and serving HEUG’s Project and Change Management Advisory Group, including as chair of that group, Fogelsonger was appointed in 2022, to assist with organizing HEUG’s annual conference.
Progressive roles with HEUG
This led to progressive roles and this year she sits on the HEUG Board of Directors and is accountable for HEUG’s premier annual conference.
Alliance is HEUG’s premier annual conference. The 2024 conference in Phoenix encompassed about 160 speakers, 250 sessions and nearly 4,000 attendees over three days. Fogelsonger is responsible for the design and delivery of Alliance 2025 in New Orleans.
Gina Fogelsonger has provided program and project management leadership at ITS for more than seven years. Previously, she worked for Central Michigan University and Ford Motor Co. She got her start in IT as a code developer and rapidly advanced into varying IT roles including database design, system administration, system design, business analysis, and project, program and portfolio management.
As program chair, Fogelsonger is responsible for the successful delivery of the Alliance 2025 conference, which will be held in New Orleans, mere days after Mardi Gras. Her responsibilities include the program of institutional sessions, vendor sessions, opening and closing events, main stage activities, keynote speakers, registration, stop-n-share activities, logistics such as AV and conference layout, hoteling and ongoing Alliance 2025 communications throughout the year. And remember, that’s all in addition to her regular job for ITS.
She was the junior program assistant for Alliance 2023 and senior program Assistant for Alliance 2024, before stepping into the program chair role for Alliance 2025.
Driven to contribute
Fogelsonger felt compelled to volunteer and serve in this leadership role for the HEUG and the conference. “As a program and project manager, I have always been interested in finding opportunities to contribute to important efforts and organizations while also enhancing my skillset,” she said.
“This provided an opportunity to, not only continue to contribute to such an important global organization, but also enhance my skills and experience in this space.”
The University benefits when employees volunteer their knowledge and energy to lead organizations and efforts related to their jobs, as Fogelsonger is.
“By having a dedicated UNC professional as a member of the conference planning team, UNC-Chapel Hill’s visibility is enhanced globally,” she said. In addition, the University gains someone who can answer most HEUG or Alliance-related questions.
“I’ve answered dozens if not hundreds of questions by UNC employees about HEUG/Alliance since starting to volunteer.” Also, the University “has an avenue to provide its unique perspective and feedback to HEUG in ways UNC hadn’t otherwise been available,” she said.
More about Fogelsonger
Fogelsonger has consulted to stand up project management offices, has established right-sized project management disciplines, and has re-engineered portfolio management processes.
She holds a Master of Science in administration, with a concentration in information resource management from Central Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational development from Spring Arbor University.
Advice: Pursue leadership opportunities
Fogelsonger encourages University employees to reach beyond their day-to-day work to volunteer and pursue leadership roles with organizations related to their University jobs.
“I have found the value, just to myself, has far outweighed the effort,” she said. Most volunteer activities, she noted, are not as demanding or involved as leading a national conference.
Because UNC-Chapel Hill is an institutional member of the Higher Education User Group (HEUG), you can join and access HEUG resources at no cost to you. HEUG has historically focused on Oracle and PeopleSoft systems, but in recent years, the organization has expanded to include all enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other systems and software that support or enhance higher education institutions.
If you want to collaborate with other institutions that have similar system or process needs, issues and suggestions, visit the HEUG website and click on “Become a Member.”