Dear Colleagues,

I am excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Peter Atkinson, Interim Dean of the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS), as the permanent CNAS Dean, effective January 6, 2025.

A UCR faculty member since 1997, Peter is a professor in the Department of Entomology whose research focuses on developing novel, molecular biology-based strategies for the genetic control of pest insects. Peter has served in a variety of administrative roles within CNAS and at UCR, including Divisional Dean of Life Sciences; Deputy and Interim Director of the Genomics Institute/Institute for Integrative Biology; Director of the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology; Director of the Center for Disease Vector Research; Chair of the Institutional Biosafety Committee, Chair of the Senate Planning & Budget Committee; and member of the Senate Executive Council. He has served as CNAS Interim Dean for the past 16 months. 

During his service as Interim Dean, Peter has worked with department chairs and graduate program directors to develop and implement new strategies for providing funding for Ph.D. students while maintaining the sizes of their graduate programs. In coordination with Environmental Health & Safety, he has implemented new procedures that ensure documentation of safety protocols in CNAS instructional laboratories. Peter successfully advocated placing three new science buildings on the Campus Capital Projects List, reunited the CNAS Dean’s office staff in a single suite in Olmsted Hall, revived the CNAS Science Lecture Series, and enabled the development of initial proposals for several self-supporting professional graduate degree programs. Under his leadership, the CNAS Dean’s Office has augmented and extended UCOP’s funding for the college’s junior faculty mentorship program and expanded outreach to local schools and the surrounding community.

A first-generation college student, Peter obtained his BS and Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and completed postdoctoral training in the Biology Department at Syracuse University in New York. He then returned to Australia, where he worked as a Research Scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in Canberra before joining the UCR faculty as an associate professor.

Peter’s appointment follows the conclusion of a highly competitive national search conducted by the firm Isaacson, Miller, through which Peter emerged as the most accomplished and experienced candidate, ready to lead CNAS through its next period of growth.

I would like to thank the members of the search committee for their engagement in helping to select our new CNAS Dean:

Christopher Lynch, BCOE Dean and Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Chair)

Hoori Ajami, Associate Professor, Environmental Sciences

Djurdjica Coss, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development & Professor of Biomedical Sciences

Elizabeth Davis, CHASS Equity Advisor and Associate Professor of Psychology (Affirmative Action Compliance Liaison) 

Jennifer Farias, CNAS Chief Financial and Administrative Officer

Chukwufunanya (Funanya) Ikechukwu, Undergraduate Student 

Karine Le Roch, Professor, Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology (MCSB)

Paige Mejia, CNAS Financial Operations Manager

Umar Mohideen, Professor, Physics, former Divisional Dean of Physical Sciences 

Lan Pham, Graduate Student

Richard Redak, Professor, Chair of Entomology 

Kathy Redd, CNAS Director for Graduate Student Advising 

Helen Regan, Professor, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology (EEOB)

Yinsheng Wang, Distinguished Professor, Chemistry

Please join me in congratulating Peter on this appointment.