[Plsfaculty] SPLS Business Office

Fri May 10 08:00:00 MST 2024

Dear colleagues,

I would like to introduce the professionals who are now working with me as a team to manage financial matters for SPLS, Amanda Stevens and Kevin Teres. Please join me in welcoming these highly qualified individuals to our SPLS Business Office.

Below, please find a short introduction to Amanda and Kevin, their contact information, and their office locations, main responsibilities, and immediate priorities. Amanda and Kevin are working with SPLS in addition to existing responsibilities; for this reason, they will be working in their current offices for the most part (and remotely), though they anticipate being in Forbes 303 frequently. We recognize the importance of face-to-face interactions.

Amanda and Kevin understand our urgent needs and will devote the time, effort, and clarity to SPLS that we need. We know that the financial management situation in the unit must be righted and stabilized at the earliest possible opportunity. We also have immediate needs to address graduate support in the fall, as well as many other matters before us. I am exceptionally grateful that we have Amanda and Kevin working with us.

For P-card documentation, reimbursements, and similar, please continue to use our SPLS-BIZOFFICE at arizona.edu email. For other questions or concerns shared via email, please include both Amanda and Kevin, so that they can work together. You are welcome to CC me as well, if you wish.

At our next faculty meeting, I will ask that Amanda and Kevin please share with us their specific priorities, expected timelines, and progress to date in greater detail.

Welcome Kevin, and welcome back Amanda! Thank you for your work with us.

Warm regards,
Betsy

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AMANDA STEVENS

Assistant Director, Operations, ALVSCE Administration &
Treasurer, Arizona Experiment Station

Amanda84 at arizona.edu<mailto:Amanda84 at arizona.edu>
(520) 401-8980
Forbes 322B (and remote)

Past experience: I have held three separate positions at UArizona. (1) Coordinator, Academic Programs and Financial Operations with the Wyant College of Optical Sciences, where I was responsible for curriculum management and evaluation, graduate student and scholarship management, grant writing and direct report to Associate Dean of Academic Programs. (2) I transitioned to the School of Plant Sciences and served as the lead fiscal officer from 2017-2022. Near the end of my term with SPLS, I reorganized the ALVSCE Staff Council and served as the inaugural chair from 2021-2023. (3) Currently I hold a dual role: Assistant Director of Operations for ALVSCE, where I coordinate operations within the ALVSCE Division, serve as fiscal officer for federal capacity funds and manage college level funding and commitments (such as F&A, summer/winter instruction, faculty hires/start-ups, Endowed Chair management and oversight of CALES graduate funding (RA & TA)).  Finally, as Treasurer of Arizona Experiment Station I serve on the ALVSCE Executive Council as 1 of the 3 ALVSCE CFOs.

Primary responsibilities within SPLS: Kevin and I will partner very closely to manage the financial operations of SPLS. I will mainly be responsible for day-to-day management of the business office, processes, and staff.

Priorities for the first month: (1) prioritize needs that require immediate attention, (2) re-establish business processes and reporting structure that provides timely and accurate information, and (3) close out Fiscal Year 2024 and set SPLS up for success in FY2025.

KEVIN TERES

Manager, Finance/Administration for Environmental Science (ENVS) &
Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) Shared Business Center

kteres at arizona.edu<mailto:kteres at arizona.edu>
(520) 626-5881
Shantz 429 (and remote)

Past experience: I started off in ALVSCE Division Business Services as an accountant in 2014, was promoted to Accountant Sr, and subsequently, Business Manager in the same office. In June of 2019, I accepted the Manager of Finance/Administration role in Environmental Science where I have been since. Prior to coming to the University of Arizona, I held a Business Manager position at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for 5 years.

Primary responsibilities with SPLS: My main responsibilities will involve working with the Interim Director and addressing faculty financial concerns. This will involve partnering with the Interim Unit Head on School initiatives, Unit All Funds forecasting, strategic decision making, and various tasks related to faculty finances. I will assist in transactional process approvals and correcting SPLS accounts to set up the School for the new fiscal year, and going forward.

Priorities for the first month: (1) clean up financial activity, (2) reset accounts to make sure they are ready for FY25, and (3) get to know unit financials, commitments, and overall financial health. Kevin notes that learning the unit financials of SPLS is going to take some time but he recognizes our priority needs and Amanda and Betsy are here to help.

Kevin’s work hours: Monday through Friday from 7am-4pm, with a combination of remote and in-office presence. Fridays will always be remote. While on campus, Kevin will pop over occasionally to Forbes.

[The University of Arizona block 'A' logo.]
A. Elizabeth Arnold, PhD

Professor, School of Plant Sciences

Curator, Gilbertson Mycological Herbarium

Chair and Director of Graduate Studies,

Ecosystem Genomics GIDP

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

fungi at arizona.edu

www.arnoldlab.net<http://www.arnoldlab.net> | www.gilbertsonherbarium.net<http://www.gilbertsonherbarium.net>

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