The Austin College community is saddened by the death of Dr. Cynthia Manley, professor emerita of French at Austin College.She joined the Austin College faculty in 1977 and shared her love of the French language and the culture of France with hundreds of students before her retirement in 2010. She loved teaching and once said her goal in teaching French was to create success for her students in learning ‘usable’ language.
Cynthia worked with many outreach activities of the language department, including many years of organizing Foreign Language Weekend and Fete Francaise programs, which brought hundreds of high school language learners to campus. She later was involved in the Richardson Language Institute for Texas teachers of French, Latin, Spanish, and German. In addition to teaching and mentoring , Cynthia long was involved in research of 18th century French literature. In her leisure, she was a great fan of the detective novel. She also participated in the Denison Sister City program with Cognac, France.
For several years, she also served as director of international education, helping students prepare for study abroad programs around the world. She also mentored international students attending Austin College, helping them to acclimate to their U.S. –and Austin College—home.
For the past year, Cynthia lived in Florida near her sister. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Wirth-Manley Endowed Founders Scholarship at Austin College that Cynthia established.
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