Jose Franco

Jose first joined the Foundation and Corporate Engagement team in 2020 as the Research and Analytical Strategist, a new position created to support our external partnerships research and strategy before transitioning to Assistant Director of Corporate Engagement in 2022. In his current role, Jose supports  campus with industry engagement managing a portfolio of corporate prospects with the intent of building mutually beneficial relationships with UC Davis, and exploring potential collaboration and financial support for the University.

In his role as analyst, Jose worked broadly across the team to provide highly customized and strategic information in support of comprehensive corporate and foundation engagement efforts. This included: providing leadership, campus units, and initiatives with company profiles used for strategy and partner prospecting; identifying foundation funding leads for faculty, campus initiatives and research centers; data reporting on sponsored research and philanthropic giving; and supporting department marketing/stewardship efforts through managing department social media accounts, creating impact report drafts and PowerPoint slide decks used for strategic alignment with corporate partners.

Prior to joining the FCE team, Jose was part of the UC Davis Office of Research where he focused on interdisciplinary research development broadly across campus, in addition to supporting the Microbiome Special Research Program with program development, marketing and event coordination. Jose has also worked at a private medical device manufacturer for five years where he helped lead the manufacturing department while taking night classes in order to transfer to UC Davis. 

Jose is a Bay Area native, first generation college graduate and a UC Davis alumnus graduating in 2018.