William A. Franke Receives Honorary Doctorate
On May 15th, The University of Arizona W.A. Franke Honors College celebrated its largest graduating class ever. The ceremony, which took place in McKale Memorial Center, recognized over 500 undergraduates earning their bachelor’s degrees with Honors.
This spring’s convocation address was delivered by William A. Franke, whose generous $25 million naming gift has contributed to the thriving success and support of students at the W.A. Franke Honors College.
Franke was also honored at the University of Arizona’s commencement with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, adding another impressive achievement to his name.
Born in Texas and raised in Latin America, Dr. Franke has undergraduate and law degrees from Stanford University. He is managing partner of Indigo Partners LLC, a global private equity firm that specializes in the aviation industry. Dr. Franke oversees several airlines, including Frontier Airlines in the U.S., Wizz Air in Hungary, JetSMART in Chile and Argentina, Volaris in Mexico, and serves as chair of APiJET, an aviation software platform, and CleanJoule, a sustainable aviation fuel company.
The Franke family is a major financial supporter of education, including the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, the University of Montana, the Mayo Clinic Medical School of Arizona, the Barrow Neurological Institute, and Stanford University and its Law School.
Franke shared words of wisdom with the W.A. Franke Honors College class of 2025 during his remarks.
“A lesson I have learned in life is that in messy situations, tremendous opportunity exists. Where others see chaos, you have a chance to see potential. And here’s the good news: You’re made for this. Your generation has all the tools—you’re adaptive, inclusive, collaborative, wired for innovation and willing to tackle big problems with big ideas. You’re perhaps the most self-driven generation America has ever produced. In short: You’re who we’ve been waiting for,” he encouraged.
Dr. Franke’s generous gift has made a significant impact on the college and will continue to provide generations of Honors students with countless opportunities to live out the values of the W.A. Franke Honors College—to Seek, Connect, Create, Evolve, and Celebrate.
“[These] five values are designed to fuel your personal growth and shape your leadership style,” Franke said. “They’re your North Star for the journey that’s just beginning.”