Clinton School of Public Service Dean Victoria DeFrancesco Soto has been named Chair of the Volcker Alliance Deans Summit, stepping into a new two-year leadership role.
Founded in 2013 by former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker, the Volcker Alliance is a nonpartisan nonprofit that empowers the next generation to choose careers in public service. The Deans Summit, a signature initiative of the Volcker Alliance, provides space for more than 70 deans and directors of schools of public service to shed competitive posture in favor of collective action.Â
“We are thrilled to welcome Dean DeFrancesco Soto as the new chair,” said Sara Mogulescu, President of the Volcker Alliance. “Her thought partnership and leadership on the Deans Summit have been tremendous, and we look forward to the impact she will have in this new capacity.”
Rooted in Volcker’s lifelong calling to public service, the Deans Summit supports academic leaders in preparing the next generation of public service leaders and organizes vital cross-university initiatives that expand the reach and impact of public service education.
Dean DeFrancesco Soto succeeds former Chair David M. Van Slyke, Dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, who served as Deans Summit Chair from 2024-2026.
“Paul Volcker’s mission was centered on the power of public service, and an important element of that legacy is supporting the deans and directors who are cultivating tomorrow’s leaders,” Dean DeFrancesco Soto said. “It is an honor to step into this role to help organize key national initiatives and strengthen strategic collaboration among peer institutions.”
Dean DeFrancesco Soto’s appointment builds on years of deep institutional engagement with the Volcker Alliance. She has served on the Deans Summit Steering Committee since 2022 and previously chaired the summit’s Leading Across Difference working group.
Under her leadership, the Clinton School hosted the Volcker Alliance and the Deans Summit Steering Committee in 2022, featuring keynote remarks from President Bill Clinton, Founder and Board Chair of the Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States. The Clinton School has also actively participated in signature Alliance efforts, including the Service to Service Initiative, the Constructive Dialogue Curriculum Initiative, and the annual Deans Summit meeting.