About Dr. Frances Pestello
Dr. Fran Pestello is the first presidential spouse at Saint Louis University. She brings decades of academic experience and a passion for higher education to the role.
Dr. Fran Pestello supports the work of SLU’s Office of the President, often by hosting events for students, staff, faculty, and community constituents. She is a champion of the St. Louis Literary Awards, and has helped to connect the work of award-winning authors to campus life through the Campus Read initiative and other SLU programs.
She serves on the boards of the SLU Women’s Commission, the Saint Louis Zoo Association and the International Institute of St. Louis. She is also the treasurer of the Westminster Lake Special Business District.
As an adjunct professor in SLU's Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Dr. Fran Pestello teaches introductory courses and an upper-division course related to her research specialization in deviant behavior.
Prior to moving to St. Louis, she served as a professor of sociology at Le Moyne College. She was also department chair and professor of sociology at the University of Dayton. Her research interests include deviance, law, crime and delinquency, methods and statistics, social psychology, and family.
Dr. Fran Pestello grew up in a family that placed a high value on education. She received a bachelor's degree in sociology from the College of Wooster. Her experience there ignited a lifelong love of higher learning. She pursued graduate study at the University of Akron, where she earned her Ph.D.