The University of Alabama at Birmingham will remember Maryann Murphy Manning, Ed.D., distinguished professor emerita in the School of Education, with a memorial service and scholarship fund. She passed away on Sept. 8, 2013.
A celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, in the Jemison Concert Hall at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, 200 10th Ave South. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Maryann Manning Endowed Literacy Scholarship or the Artie Manning Memorial Scholarship Endowment at the UAB School of Education, 1720 2nd Ave. South, EB228, Birmingham, Ala. 35294.
“Her death is a great loss to the field and to us at UAB in particular,” said Deborah Voltz, Ed.D., dean of the School of Education. “She made a difference in so many lives and will be sorely missed.”
Manning grew up on a farm in rural Nebraska. She began teaching high school at age 19 and would go on to educate students in a one-room country school, then in the Nebraska public schools system.
Manning earned a master’s degree from Wayne State College and a doctorate from the University of Nebraska. She joined the UAB faculty in 1972 as a renowned expert in reading and writing instruction, as well as integrated curriculum. She wrote and co-authored more than 10 books and served as a columnist for Teaching K-8 and Childhood Education magazines.
In 2002, Manning became the inaugural recipient of the Ellen Gregg Ingalls/UAB National Alumni Society Award for Lifetime Achievement in Teaching. She also won the Truman Pierce Award from the Alabama Association of Elementary School Administrators (AAESA) in recognition for her leadership and outstanding contributions to advance the direction of education in Alabama.
Manning had been recently elected vice president of the International Reading Association (IRA), a global network of more than 80,000 members who are committed to worldwide literacy. She was slated to assume the position of president.
At the time of her death, she was working at a literacy conference in Indonesia, doing what she loved.
She is survived by her daughter Marilee Manning Ransom, son-in-law Lance Ransom and grandchildren Tori and Truman of Austin, Texas. She was preceded in death by her son, Artie.