Staff Directory

Linda Franzoni

Title:
Faculty Athletics Representative and Professor of the Practice in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Dr. Linda Franzoni serves as Duke Athletics' Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR), acting as the primary liaison between the university's academic and athletics communities while helping ensure institutional integrity and student-athlete success. She works closely with Duke Athletics leadership, faculty and the Atlantic Coast Conference on matters related to academic excellence, governance and NCAA compliance.

Franzoni served as associate dean of undergraduate education in Duke's Pratt School of Engineering from 2003-24 and is professor of the practice emeritus in the Thomas Lord Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. Her research focused on acoustics, structural dynamics and vibration, with applications in architectural acoustics, vehicle interior noise and underwater acoustics. Throughout her academic career, she developed computational methods for predicting sound fields and contributed research on acoustic radiation and scattering from submerged structures.

In 2023, Franzoni was recognized as one of the National Football Foundation's Faculty Salutes honorees, which recognizes Faculty Athletics Representatives for their service to college athletics.

Franzoni earned a Bachelor of Science from Yale in 1980 before receiving both her Master of Science in 1988 and Ph.D. in 1991 from Duke.

Updated July 2026