María E. Fránquiz is Professor and Program Coordinator of the Bilingual/Bicultural Studies area. She is former Dean of the College of Education at the University of Utah (2014–2017) and currently serves as President-Elect of the National Council of Teachers of English.

Fránquiz’ love of cultures, languages and literacies is rooted in her life experiences and central to her research interests in bilingual/multicultural education and language/literacy studies. In her work she examines the intersectionality of languages and identities in the reading and writing development of learners preK–20.

Dr. Fránquiz is co-editor of the Bilingual Research Journal. She co-authored two books, Inside the Latin@ Experience: A Latin@ Reader and Scholars in the Field:The Challenges of Migrant Education. Her publications appear in professional journals including Language Arts, Journal of Latinos and Education, Multicultural Perspectives, The High School Journal, Reading in the Teaching of English, Journal of Classroom Interaction, TESOL Quarterly, among others. As a consultant of the National Writing Project, she was instrumental in (re)establishing the MayaWest Writing Project in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Recognition of her research and mentoring contributions include the NAE Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow Award, AERA Scholars of Color Mid-Career Award, NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award, AERA Div G Faculty Mentor Award, the AERA Div K Award for Innovations in Research on Equity and Social Justice in Teacher Education, the AERA Div G Henry Trueba Awards, the NCRLL Distinguished Senior Scholar award, among others.