Campus News

Lucy Manley

For Lucy Manley, the opportunity matched the perfect place with the perfect position.

"I like the small community college atmosphere where everybody knows each other and you can really get to know your students," said Manley, who joined Garrett College as associate dean for academic affairs in July. "As for the position itself, it matched up with a lot of different experiences I've had in the education field."

"I'm very impressed with Lucy – she's already demonstrated her leadership capability in the short time she's been here," said Dr. Qing Yuan, GC's dean of academic affairs. "I'm looking forward to working with Lucy on many projects that have the potential to enhance the great work we're already doing in academics."

One of Manley's most important responsibilities is support and supervision of the college's part-time faculty.

"I want to emphasis the professional development of part-time faculty, especially because we rely on so many part-time faculty," said Manley, a former assistant professor in English who holds master's degrees in both curriculum studies and English composition and rhetoric. "I also want part-time faculty to understand the integral role they play in our students' success."

Manley will also supervise developmental education, which includes all non-credit coursework students may require to become college-ready in reading, writing and math.

"That's a big challenge and I'm excited to be part of that challenge," said Manley, who developed and delivered curriculum for developmental writing courses as director of first-year composition at Valley Forge Military College. "I'm in the process of reviewing innovative developmental education strategies that have been successful at other colleges as well as reviewing our internal data and programs."

Manley – most recently director of the Learning, Assessment, and Support Center at Valley Forge – has also been charged by Dr. Yuan with overseeing high school dual enrollment activities.

"Qing and I are working on articulation agreements that have the potential to increase the opportunity for high school students to get a significant part of their college coursework completed before moving on to four-year colleges and universities," said Manley. "The goal is to save students and their families both time and money."

Manley also has extensive assessment experience geared toward both accreditation and long-range institutional planning.

Manley and her husband, Joshua, the management analyst for five National Parks in western Pennsylvania, reside in Farmington, Pa., with their two children – Maxwell, 5, and Stella, 3.

"Maxwell just started kindergarten and Stella just started preschool," said Manley. "We spent a lot of time this summer exploring Deep Creek State Park. We're really excited to be part of this community."