From dominica.albitre at ucr.edu Thu Apr 16 17:35:12 2026 From: dominica.albitre at ucr.edu (Dominica Albitre) Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:35:12 -0700 Subject: [Microplantpath_faculty] April Update on BMP - from the CNAS Dean Message-ID: Dear Faculty of the Departments of Biochemistry and Microbiology & Plant Pathology, I provide here an update on our BMP unit. Consistent with our expectations, the new BMP leadership team is off to a strong and steady start. Dominica Albitre has hit the ground running as FAO, bringing focus, responsiveness, and sound operational discipline. Mariam Plowman is providing clear coordination and structure as Financial Operations Manager, and together they are quickly establishing the stability and clarity the unit needs. The early momentum is noticeable, and our team is building confidence across the board. Consistent with the direction established by the Dean's Office and as discussed with your Department Chairs, Maria Sedillo will not continue in an ongoing operational support role for the unit. Instead, Maria, working from her location in Batchelor Hall/Botany & Plant Sciences, is engaged in a limited consultative capacity, providing expertise related to historical records and documentation to ensure continuity and a smooth transition. Her institutional knowledge remains valuable in this capacity, and she is supporting the new administrative team as they move forward. Maria is not assigned to operational responsibilities for the BMP unit and is not authorized to initiate or submit new proposals, transactions, or administrative actions on behalf of the unit. While she is not working directly with PIs on forward-looking funding activities, she is helping ensure that the most complex legacy funds receive the technical attention needed to support accurate reporting, responsible closeout, and overall compliance. If clarification of historical or forensic information is needed, Maria may participate in discussions with faculty as appropriate. Those interactions will be coordinated through the BMP leadership team to ensure clear communication and alignment with the unit?s current administrative structure. Faculty who are currently working with Maria on legacy matters may continue those interactions as needed to bring those issues to resolution, with coordination through the BMP leadership team. Progress on this focused body of work will be monitored, with the expectation that these efforts will be substantially completed by November 2026. To maintain clarity going forward, all faculty interactions related to BMP administrative matters should be directed through the BMP leadership team. I appreciate the partnership of faculty throughout this transition. Our collective priority remains reinforcing the new administrative structure and allowing the team to continue building stability and forward progress. On behalf of the CNAS Dean?s Office, I again thank you for your advice, patience and collaboration. Peter Peter W. Atkinson, Ph.D. Dean College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences 2315 Olmsted Hall (Dean's Office) 2234A Genomics Building (Faculty Office) University of California Riverside, CA 92521, USA Ph: 951-827-3101 e-mail: peter.atkinson at ucr.edu https://atkinsonlabentm.ucr.edu/ Executive Assistant: Jennifer Markovski (office) 951-827-4597 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: