Dr. Norman Smith, President of Dowling College, announced the appointment of Robert J. Manley, professor of education administration, as Interim Dean of the School of Education effective September 2013.  Professor Manley is the coauthor with Richard Hawkins of a book on school reform titled Designing School Systems for All Students: A Toolbox to Fix America’s Schools (Rowman and Littlefield 2009). In January 2013, Corwin Press published their new book: Making the Common Core Standards Work: Using Professional Development to Build World Class Schools. In the AASA Journal, School Administrator (August 2013), Making the Common Core Standards Work received a very positive review as a strongly researched and practical guide for principals and teachers to implement the common core standards. 

Professor Manley graduated from Iona College with a BA in Spanish Language Arts and minors in Philosophy and Education. He completed his MA degree in the Humanities at Hofstra University and his Professional Diploma and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Educational Administration at St. John’s University. 

He taught Spanish language skills and served as an instructor in a New York State Model Humanities program at West Babylon High School. For 21 years, he served in a variety of administrative positions including Assistant Principal at Babylon Jr./Sr. High School, High School Principal in Plainedge School District, and Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and Deputy Superintendent. From 1990 to 2000, he was Superintendent of Schools in West Babylon, New York.

He served as President of the Board of Directors for the Suffolk County Library System and the Suffolk County Organization to Promote Education. He is Professor of Educational Administration and Leadership in the Doctoral Program at Dowling College, New York. He presented peer-reviewed papers at the Sixth Annual Conference on Social Issues at Oxford University, England; the World Association for Case Research and Application in Manheim, Germany, and Lucerne, Switzerland; and the Eastern Educational Research Association in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Clearwater, Florida and the International Business and Economy Conference (2008-2013). 

In addition, he presented workshops on School Board Governance at the New York State School Boards Annual Convention and at the National School Boards Conference. On January 8, 2009, he presented “Systems That Work for Students in Higher Education” as Keynote Speaker for the International Symposium for Quality in Higher Education at Shri M.D., Shah Mahila College of Arts and Commerce, Mumbai, India. In January 2011, his paper: “Indian, Mexican and USA Management Students Interpret Moral Leadership for a Global Economy” was awarded Best Paper for Management at the International Business and Economy Conference at Universidad Panamericana, Guadalajara, Mexico.