November 12, 2007

 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Alabama Board of Trustees has named retired UAB Professor Maryann M. Manning, Ed.D., as Distinguished Service Professor Emerita. Manning was recognized during a meeting of the board on Nov. 9 for her many contributions to the UAB School of Education and the state of Alabama.

Manning is a renowned expert in reading and writing instruction and integrated curriculum. She has written and co-authored more than 10 books. She has been a columnist for Teaching K-8 and Childhood Education magazines and a member of the International Reading Association’s board of directors.

Manning initiated and organized the Young Authors Conference and the MidSouth Reading and Writing Conference, which are held annually at UAB. In 2002 she became the first recipient of the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching.

She has received numerous other honors, including the Distinguished Service to Alabama Schools Award from the Alabama Association of Elementary School Principals in 2006. Also that year, she received the Truman Pierce Award from the Alabama Association of Elementary School Administrators (AAESA). In 2007 she was presented with a resolution from the Alabama Senate for her years of service to education.

Manning earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota in 1958, her master’s degree from Wayne State College, Nebraska in 1964 and her doctorate from the University of Nebraska in 1971. She joined the faculty in the UAB School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction in 1972 as an assistant professor. She retired in August.