Debra Franko

Biography

Debra Franko is the senior vice provost for academic affairs and a professor of applied psychology at Northeastern, where she has served since 2016. She is responsible for faculty hiring, tenure and promotion, faculty development, and faculty diversity initiatives, and is the NECHE Accreditation Liaison Officer. In addition, Franko oversees the development of programs for cultivating and diversifying the university’s pipeline of academic leaders through the ADVANCE Office of Faculty Development. She is also the principal investigator of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant titled The Northeast Faculty Leadership Program: Success through Diversity, which is designed to develop diverse leadership in the academy.  

Prior to her current role, Franko served as associate dean for faculty in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences for five years. Her research is centered on eating disorders, depression, and suicide—with a focus on prevention and risk factors—and she maintains a research appointment at Massachusetts General Hospital. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and her PhD in clinical psychology from McGill University. 

Contact

Debra Franko
d.franko@northeastern.edu

Kelly Flannery
Special Assistant and Project Manager, Academic &
Faculty Affairs
k.flannery@northeastern.edu
(617) 373–2842

Kimberly Long, Jr.
Executive Assistant for Faculty Affairs
ki.long@northeastern.edu