Foundations of Legacy: Maria Franco

When Maria Franco joined Embry‑Riddle in 1988, she planned to stay for just a year. Nearly four decades later, she has become part of the university’s story — witnessing leadership changes, campus expansions, cultural shifts and the evolution of Institutional Research itself. Through mentors who challenged her and a community that felt like home, Maria built a career that reflects both the spirit and steady progression of Embry‑Riddle.

What inspired you to join Embry‑Riddle, and what has motivated you to stay throughout the years?

Honestly, I was in my last semester of getting a BS in Statistics in 1988 and had no idea what to do with it when I saw a posting in the UCF Statistics Dept for a Research Analyst position in IR at ERAU. It turns out the IR Director was pursuing a master's there, and I think that connection, and not blowing the interview (my first one ever), got me in the door. Thank you, Debbie Osborne! She had just shifted to IR from the Math Dept two months earlier, and mine was the first full-time position created in IR other than the Director. I sat at a table in a small space in Spruance Hall along with two student assistants. I thought, “I’ll give this a go for a year to get some experience.” 37 years later…

The people, the students, the uniqueness of ERAU, the location, the growth, the challenge, the reward, the pride; all have contributed to calling ERAU my forever work home.

How has Embry‑Riddle changed or evolved during your tenure?

When I began, Kenneth Tallman was President, JP Riddle could be found on occasion hanging out in the Student Center (the one with the Cessna hanging from the ceiling), the Worldwide Campus went by the name International Campus (and was in Bunnell), and the Prescott Campus was Venice-like in that I had no idea how to navigate the random maze of small buildings, but knew if I just kept walking (in what seemed like circles) I would eventually find the office I was looking for. I have had 16 different physical office locations, including returning to a prior location more than once.

I remember going to basketball games at Silver Sands Middle School and how that team took the frenzied energy of that middle school gym all the way to championships. I remember the Christmas Day tornado and how everyone came together to move forward. I remember parking lots, grass fields, and the alphabet soup (and glass office) complex that later became state of the art buildings or beautiful residence halls. I remember Worldwide (ne Extended Campus) being in the old GE building, then the old hospital building. I remember when ISB was called Volusia Avenue and that the previous DB airport had a whopping two gates. I remember using green bar paper with the holes on the sides to print out data and results; now we have interactive dashboards at our fingertips. I remember audibly laughing when a goal of 6,000 students was proposed for the DB campus; I have since eaten my words.

Who has had the most significant influence on your career at Embry‑Riddle, and why?

The ones who initially terrified me, specifically Dr. Richard Bloom at Prescott and Dr. Ira Jacobson (VP Academics). Yes, they were brilliant (and funny, once you got over your fear), but they made me a better thinker, moving past just reporting data to pondering “how?”, “why?”, and “what if?”, as well as being ready to back up my hypotheses or be comfortable in admitting what I didn’t know…yet.

The IR team throughout all these years have also been significant influencers, both personally and professionally. We’re a group that has had longevity as well, facing and sharing life/work challenges and successes along the way. Simply put, they rock.

What is one little-known fact about you that your colleagues might find surprising?

A connection to aviation/aerospace runs in my family. My uncle flew a P-51 Mustang in WWII; my mother was one of the early WAF (Women’s Air Force) classes when she enlisted in the late 1940’s; my father was a USAF B-52 pilot then later in charge of Strategic Air Command in Taiwan during the Vietnam War. I was born at Barksdale AFB, La and spent the ages of 3-7 at Yokota AFB in Japan, then a year at Griffiss AFB in NY before my Dad was ready to say good-bye to cold weather and moved us to FL near an AFB that “had a good golf course” (Patrick), where he spent another 20 years with PRC and Lockheed as a Chief Engineer with the shuttle program. Growing up on the Space Coast was a joy. I knew a rocket had just gone off whenever our windows rattled. I vividly remember camping out overnight along the river with hundreds of others for the first shuttle launch in 1981, with the all-white shuttle glistening on the launch pad and the countdown clock as our night-lights (can’t get that close to the launchpads anymore), then the immense sound and excitement when it soared off into space the next morning.