Patsy Manion speaking after the UCA Board of Trustees voted to rename Laney Hall to Laney-Manion Hall in honor of her husband, Dr. Jerry Manion.
The University of Central Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the renaming of Laney Hall to Laney-Manion Hall in recognition of the longest serving professor in the history of UCA, Dr. Jerald “Jerry” M. Manion.
Dr. Manion spent nearly 50 years at UCA working in the Department of Chemistry as a professor, chair, mentor, friend, and ambassador for the department. Manion died on July 18, 2014. Because of the distinguished service of Manion, Laney Hall will be renamed Laney-Manion Hall.
“I can’t imagine any honor that he would have wanted more than to be recognized by this university,” said Dr. Manion’s son, Danny.
He and several members of the family attended today’s meeting that included the vote to rename Laney Hall which was built in 1994 and named after Gov. Benjamin T. Laney. It is the current home of the chemistry department, where Dr. Manion worked for so many years.
“He had a great life. He loved what he did. He loved this university. He loved the students, and we couldn’t go anywhere in 48 states and not run into one of his students,” said Patsy Manion, his wife. “He was signed up to teach this fall. They had him on the schedule. He was going to get in his 50 years.”
At the time of his death, Dr. Manion was the longest serving professor in the history of UCA having worked for 49 years. He earned a bachelor’s in chemistry from Harding University in 1962 and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Mississippi in 1965. He served as the chair of the Department of Chemistry from 1965 to 1992. He also served three terms as faculty senate president and was the 1999 UCA Public Service Award winner. In 2010, alumni honored Dr. Manion with an endowed departmental award bearing his name and given annually to an outstanding chemistry student. Dr. Manion also played the 5-string banjo and was a founding member of “The Professors” bluegrass band.
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