Jennifer Parker was named Manager of the Year in the College of Arts & Sciences for outstanding accomplishments in leadership and management.
Jennifer Parker in the department of history has been named 2019-2020 Manager of the Year in the College of Arts & Sciences.
The award was presented at a Zoom meeting of College managers on Sept. 9. The award, established in 2005, is given annually to a business or administrative manager in the College in recognition of outstanding accomplishments, including leadership and teamwork; creativity, innovation and resourcefulness; technological expertise; and effective human resource and budget management.
Parker became the department manager for history in July 2017 and became a member of the Administrative Manager Advisory Committee in 2019. She has worked on the implementation of the new Rapid Admin Service Request (RASR) system in the College. This system was created to serve as the new request system for HR and Accounting Shared Services in the College.
Parker, who has 15 years of experience in accounting procedures and best practices, joined UNC-Chapel Hill as an accounting technician in 2015 before transitioning to the department of history. Before coming to Carolina, she served as controller for Boone Masonry Inc. and Central Paving Company Inc. She received a B.S. in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2000.
Nominators said Parker is one of the most knowledgeable department managers in all aspects of the role, from HR to finance to student services to faculty affairs. Beyond that, she is a mentor to others and a leader in the social sciences division.
“Many of us nominated Jennifer because she so richly deserves this award,” said Lisa Lindsay, professor and chair of the department of history. “Her expertise, wisdom, generosity and good humor literally keep our department running and set a shining example throughout the College.”
Here are more comments from her colleagues:
- “She is always willing to go the extra mile to support her fellow managers.”
- “She works hard to build relationships with the people in her department so that they feel supported and know that they can come to her for anything. She thinks outside the box.”
- “She is a great asset to the College of Arts & Sciences. She does an excellent job managing finances and budgets and is extremely thorough.”
- “She is a splendid administrator of the overall programmatic activities and instructional commitments of the department — as well as the coordination of the long-term planning of the multifaceted programs in the department of history. Her administrative talents and management skills have been vital to the department’s success.”
- “She is an outstanding manager and human being, who has transformed the way that history does many things. She is a brilliant financial analyst, a skilled and empathetic personnel manager and a creative visionary for our department.”