Professor & Conrad N. Hilton Distinguished Chair 
Conrad N. Hilton College

A Hilton College Professor and the Conrad N. Hilton Distinguished Chair, Dr. DeFranco has served as the College’s graduate program director, associate dean and interim dean. In 2005, she joined the University of Houston Office of the Provost, where she held the positions of assistant and associate vice president for undergraduate studies. In this role, she coordinated all aspects of undergraduate education. She was directly responsible for all undeclared students at the Undergraduate Scholars, Academic Program Management Office, Learning Assessment Services, UH Writing Center and the UH Chartered School. She also represented UH at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Dr. DeFranco has received many teaching awards at the college and university levels, including the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award and the University of Houston Career Teaching Excellence Award. Her passion for education has been celebrated through her over 200 refereed and non-refereed publications, nine textbooks and a number of grants. She has also received research awards, such as the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Applied Research, the Best Paper Award from the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and International Education (I-CHRIE), the HFTP-iHITA Best Research Paper Award, the Stephen Rushmore/HVS Faculty Research Award and the Donald Greenaway Excellence Award.