Victoria M. DeFrancesco Soto

Dr. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is the Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, where she leads the next generation of data-driven, community-centered leaders. She brings over 20 years of experience bridging academic rigor with practical, on-the-ground projects that build civic engagement across the global landscape.

An award-winning educator, Dr. DeFrancesco Soto’s areas of expertise include civic engagement, leadership, political psychology, and migration. Throughout her career, which includes previous faculty positions at Northwestern University, Rutgers, and the University of Texas at Austin (UT), she has pioneered curricular innovations that merge classroom learning with impactful field service.

At UT, Dr. DeFrancesco Soto served as the Assistant Dean of Civic Engagement at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Under her leadership, she built the LBJ Office of Civic Engagement and spearheaded high-impact initiatives, such as the launch of the LBJ Women’s Campaign School, a nonpartisan program empowering women to lead in the political arena.

Her distinguished contributions to governance and civic life have earned her significant national and regional accolades. A Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Dr. DeFrancesco Soto was named one of America’s 250 Public Service Champions in 2026 and the 2025 Alumni of the Year for the University of Arizona W.A. Franke Honors College. She was also honored with the Las Primeras Award from MANA, celebrating her historic role as the first Latina dean of a presidential school. Within Arkansas, she has been named one of the Arkansas Women’s Foundation’s 100 Women of Impact and has been repeatedly recognized on Arkansas Business’s prestigious Arkansas 250 list.

Dr. DeFrancesco Soto remains actively engaged in national and local civic leadership, serving on the boards of prominent organizations such as KFF, the Volcker Alliance Dean’s Summit, and Forward Arkansas. A dedicated advocate for regional collaboration and academic excellence, she is a member of the Executive Committee of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA) and co-founded the SEC Schools of Public Policy Leadership Conference, which brings together academic deans and directors from across the region to foster institutional teamwork.

A firsthand witness to the transformative power of public higher education, Dr. DeFrancesco Soto earned her undergraduate degree in political science and Latin American Studies from the University of Arizona before completing both her master’s degree and her Ph.D. in political science at Duke University. Dr. DeFrancesco Soto and her husband live in Little Rock with their two children and two cats–Gatito and Chiquita.