Victoria DeFrancesco Soto

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Victoria Maria DeFrancesco Soto (born 1978) is an American political scientist and academic administrator. [1] She is dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas. [2] She became the first Latina woman to occupy the position of Dean in a presidential institution. [3] She was previously the assistant dean for civic engagement and a senior lecturer at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. [2]

Contents

She researches immigration, women and politics, political psychology, and campaigns and elections. [2]

Early life

DeFrancesco Soto was born to Victoria and Joseph DeFrancesco in Southern Arizona. [2] [4] Her mother is from Sonora. [2] She is of Italian, Jewish, and Mexican descent. [5]

Education

She completed a bachelor's degree in political science and Latin American studies at the University of Arizona. [2] She earned a master's and, with the guidance of Dr. John Aldrich and Dr. Paula D. McClain as her doctoral advisors, earned her Ph.D. in political science from the Graduate School of Duke University. [2] [6] Her 2007 dissertation was titled, Do Latinos Party All the Time? The Role of Shared Ethnic Group Identity on Political. [4]

Career

In 2007, she moved to Chicago to work as an assistant professor at Northwestern University. [7]

DeFrancesco Soto is the first Latina dean of the Clinton School of Public Service. [8]

Passionate about making social science research more accessible and understandable for the greater public, DeFrancesco Soto has served as a contributor and analyst for popular news outlets such as CNN, Telemundo, NBCNews, Fox, HBO, and Univision. [9]

References

  1. ↑ "Things I've Learned: Victoria DeFrancesco Soto". Austin Monthly Magazine. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Adame, Jaime (2021-09-17). "From 'student council nerd' to dean: Victoria DeFrancesco Soto to lead Clinton School". Arkansas Online . Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  3. ↑ "Victoria M. De Francesco Soto, Ph.D." Aspen Institute. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  4. 1 2 DeFrancesco Soto, Victoria Maria (2007). Do Latinos Party All the Time? The Role of Shared Ethnic Group Identity on Political (Ph.D. thesis). Graduate School of Duke University. OCLC   277343161.
  5. ↑ "Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto - Clinton School of Public Service". www.clintonschool.uasys.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  6. ↑ School, The Graduate. "Alumni Profiles Series: Victoria DeFrancesco Soto | The Graduate School". gradschool.duke.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  7. ↑ "HIGH PROFILE: Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is growing passion for the public sector in others as dean of the Clinton School of Public Service | Arkansas Democrat Gazette". www.arkansasonline.com. 2023-01-22. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
  8. ↑ "How I became one of the only Latina deans in the world of higher ed". MSNBC. May 3, 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  9. ↑ "Victoria DeFrancesco Soto: Political Analyst, Social Scientist, and Academic Leader". Leading Authorities, Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
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