Effective July 1, 2024, the University of California, Riverside (UCR) College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) welcomed three new divisional deans, who will lead CNAS student academic affairs and the College’s life and agricultural sciences core areas:

• CNAS Divisional Dean of Student Academic Affairs: Stephanie Dingwall, Associate Professor of Teaching in the Biochemistry Department
• Divisional Dean of Life Sciences: Morris Maduro, Professor of Biology in the Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology Department
• Divisional Dean of Agricultural and Natural Resources: Patricia Springer, Professor of Genetics in the Botany and Plant Sciences Department

CNAS Divisional Deans Dingwall, Maduro, and Springer join Professor of Mathematics, Stefano Vidussi, who has been serving as CNAS Divisional Dean of Physical Sciences since 2022.

To learn more about CNAS leadership, please visit cnas.ucr.edu/about/leadership.

Stephanie Dingwall
CNAS Divisional Dean of Student Academic Affairs

Stephanie Dingwall, Associate Professor of Teaching in the Biochemistry Department at UC Riverside, has been named CNAS Divisional Dean of Student Academic Affairs. Dr. Dingwall succeeds Dr. Connie Nugent with UC Riverside’s Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology Department.

Dr. Dingwall oversees CNAS Student Academic Affairs and staffing for all student recruiting, advising, enrollment management, and academic success activities, including:

• Undergraduate Academic Advising Center (UAAC)
• Graduate Student Affairs Center (GSAC)
• Enrollment Management Center (EMC)
• CNAS Learning Communities
• Science Ambassadors and peer mentoring programs
• Grant- and donor-supported scholarship programs
• Highlander Day, Discover UCR Day, Highlander Orientation, and Commencement

"My goal as Divisional Dean of Student Academic Affairs is to elevate the student experience not only in CNAS but at UCR," said Dingwall. "Students do better academically, socially, and emotionally when they are treated equitably and fairly with compassion, supported by their community of peers, staff, and faculty. As Highlanders, we rise together."

Dr. Dingwall joined the UCR Department of Biochemistry in 2016. She earned both her MS and Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at UCR, and her B.S. in Neuroscience with a French minor at UCLA. She was also the first Professor of Teaching in the Division of Life Sciences in CNAS.

Although trained as a physical biochemist in enzymology, Dr. Dingwall’s current research focuses on biochemical and STEM pedagogy. She has worked with undergraduates – including being the faculty mentor for several University Honors capstone projects – on how active learning techniques used in her classes improves not only academic performance but also retention. She has been awarded grants from the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) for her pedagogical research and has been invited to present at national conferences and initiatives.

Dr. Dingwall has been recognized with the Junior Excellence in Teaching Award by the Academy of Distinguished Teaching, and subsequently made a Distinguished Teaching Fellow. She has held several positions on campus including, but not limited to, University Honors Faculty Fellow, Chair of Committee on Courses for the UCR Academic Senate, Chair of the Academy of Distinguished Teaching, and Statewide Program Coordinator of the UC-wide California Alliance for Minority Participation in Research (CAMP), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

To reach CNAS Divisional Dean of Student Academic Affairs, Dr. Stephanie Dingwall, please visit cnas.ucr.edu/about/leadership.

Morris F. Maduro
CNAS Divisional Dean of Life Sciences

Morris F. Maduro, Professor of Biology in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology at UC Riverside, has been named Divisional Dean of Life Sciences for the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, effective July 1, 2024. Dr. Maduro succeeds Kathy Borkovich, Professor of Microbiology and Plant Pathology.

During Dr. Maduro’s three-year appointment as Life Sciences Divisional Dean, he will oversee four departments: Biochemistry; Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology; Microbiology and Plant Pathology; and Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology.

"As Divisional Dean of Life Sciences, my goals are to work with CNAS leadership to find ways to streamline progress of our undergraduates through their degrees and ensure that graduate programs are working well," Maduro said. "I will also work with our departments to maintain the excellence of faculty-driven research."

Dr. Maduro joined UCR in 2003 and was the Chair of the Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology from 2021-2024. Prior to joining UCR, he received postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Alberta in Canada.

Throughout his career he has worked with nematodes as model systems to study development. His current research focuses on developmental system drift, studying how evolutionary changes in gene regulatory networks can occur without altering the developmental phenotype. He has received funding for his research primarily from the National Science Foundation, from which he received a CAREER award in 2007.

A passionate instructor, Dr. Maduro has also invested in teaching innovation. In 2012, he was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award by the UCR Senate and was Chair of the Academy of Distinguished Teaching from 2017-2019. He has also been Director of the Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program from 2017-2021 and 2022-2024, and Lead Faculty Advisor for the Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology undergraduate major from 2019-2023. In 2018, he received an Innovative Learning Technology Initiative award from the University of California to develop an online version of the introductory major course Biology 5A, which he taught from 2019-2023.

To reach CNAS Divisional Dean of Life Sciences, Dr. Morris Maduro, please visit cnas.ucr.edu/about/leadership.

Patricia Springer
CNAS Divisional Dean of Agricultural and Natural Resources

Patricia Springer, Professor of Genetics in the Botany and Plant Sciences Department at UCR, has been named Divisional Dean of Agricultural and Natural Resources for the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, effective July 1, 2024. She succeeds Isgouhi Kaloshian, Professor of Nematology.

During Dr. Springer’s three-year appointment as Agricultural and Natural Resources Divisional Dean, she will oversee four departments: Botany and Plant Sciences, Entomology, Environmental Sciences, and Nematology.

Dr. Springer joined UCR in 1997 and served as Chair of the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences from 2016 to 2024. She received a B.S. in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Minnesota, followed by a Ph.D. in Genetics from Purdue University. Prior to joining UCR, she held an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Dr. Springer is a molecular geneticist and developmental biologist. Her research has focused on understanding the genetic mechanisms that control plant form, with an emphasis on traits that impact crop yield. She has received research funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy.

Dr. Springer has taught a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses including BIOL 107A (Molecular Biology), BPSC132 (Plant Anatomy), and BPSC 232 (Plant Development). She served as Assistant Director and Director of the NSF-funded REU program in Plant Cell Biology from 2005 – 2014.

Dr. Springer has served on the UCR Academic Senate Graduate Council, UCR Academic Senate Planning and Budget Committee, and on the UC Systemwide Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs. She also served as Graduate Advisor for the Plant Biology and Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology Graduate programs. Most recently, she has been involved in the development of the early career faculty mentoring program Advancement and Retention in Academe (ARA), funded by a UCOP Advancing Faculty Diversity grant.

To reach Divisional Dean of Agricultural and Natural Resources, Patricia Springer, please visit cnas.ucr.edu/about/leadership.