Benilde School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies announces new dean 

The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) recently announced Marian Patricia Bea Francisco, PhD as the new dean of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) effective first term of the Academic Year (AY) 2024 to 2025. 

SDEAS is the leading Philippine Deaf education institution for the deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing leader-advocates since 1991. It is committed to provide quality, sustainable, and holistic programs and multilingual-multicultural learning opportunities which addresses the diverse needs of Deaf students and their allies. 

Dr. Francisco earned her Bachelor of Elementary Education (Special Education) and Master of Arts in Education (Reading Education) from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

She completed her Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Disabilities (Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) degrees at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, USA, where she was honored as the Most Outstanding International Student Leader. 

Driven by her passion for teaching, she joined Benilde as a faculty member in May 2009. 

In 2012, the highly-respected educator became the first Gold Award Recipient in the Philippines of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award for Young People, a program that aims to empower the youth to grow through non-formal education, as she led its implementation in SDEAS from 2010 to 2016.

Dr. Francisco is the first Filipino appointed to the editorial board of the American Annals of the Deaf, the oldest and widely read English-language journal dedicated to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults, and the Human Research in Rehabilitation, the official peer-reviewed publication of the Institute for Human Rehabilitation.