2023 VCA Annual Report - BEST Region

The BEST Region serves the Rausser College of Natural Resources, the Division of Biological Sciences in the College of Letters and Science, and related Organized Research Units, museums, and field stations in the biological sciences.

Check out the BEST regional website to learn more about the region and the services they provide. 

The BEST Region is under the direction of Arash Komeili, Professor, Plant & Microbial Biology, Regional Associate Dean, BEST Region. Operational direction is under Maya Serban, Regional Director. 

FY22

During the 2021-22 academic year, the BEST Region continued their efforts in building a stronger and more collaborative approach to processes handled by Research Administration (RA) and Human Resources (HR), and Purchasing & Reimbursements (P&R). One of their highlights was the creation of the Dean’s Delegation for PostDocs. This effort resulted in fewer grievances and more expertise within the region. As a related success, BEST AP has been able to provide better support to PIs for all PostDoc needs.

Other highlights of the year include filling a gap with the development and implementation of a Travel & Entertainment reimbursement request process for students who cannot submit requests in BearBUY or directly in the Reimbursement System.  The region also began leveraging the mass uploading process for PI Summer Salary. Summer Salary for the departments BEST serves continues to run smoothly with more streamlined process, advanced notice, and automation. The region saw impressive numbers with the submission of 1,100+ contracts & grants proposals in FY22.

FY23

In FY23, BEST will capitalize on the success they had in FY22 to begin launching new employee onboarding services within the region and has plans to fully regionalize this service to include all titles served in the region.

Their other goal is to restructure HR Allocations to better support clients' specific needs, focusing on creating more subject matter expertise for Non-Senate Academic appointments.

Image of the Campinelle at night