The Sister Frances Marie Manning, S.S.M.N. Award for Excellence in Literary Study
The Manning Award, presented each year by the English Department to a graduating senior,
is named in honor of Sister Frances Marie Manning, one of the original members of
the faculty of the department. As Associate Professor, Sister Frances served the University
with dedication from 1956 until her retirement in 1985. The cash award recognizes
the achievement of a student whose work and whose presence as a member of their class
has been consistently outstanding.
Sister Frances was a religious sister of the missionary order of The Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur, an order dedicated to education, and one instrumental in the founding of the University of Dallas. A brilliant student who held a B.A., a B.S. in Library Science, an M.A., and a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa, Sister Frances was also a poet, a member of the Shakespeare and Renaissance Societies of America, Campus Director of Canon Law Institute for Sisters, and a member of the National Council for Teachers of English. She delivered many professional papers on a variety of subjects and received fellowships to study abroad, all while lovingly teaching her students at the University of Dallas for over 29 years. Sister Frances died in 2000.
An Affirmation
Of course He chose! We
should not question why.
He saw the Seedling sink its
tendons deep.
He watched as rocky soil
impeded growth.
He gazed upon leaves so prone
to be
The victim whom chance misfavored
by its choice
Of situations tempered most for blight.
He saw and what He saw He
loved. He chose
The bloom that promised naught
apart from Him
And His solicitous engendering care.
He chose and meek responsive bud bowed low.
- Sr. Frances M. Manning, S.S.M.N.
Past Manning Award Recipients
1985 Melissa Marie Stewart
1986 Gary D. Thomas
1987 Judith Ann Hagley
1988 Lisa Caughlin
1989 Clinton Brand
1990 Tracy Eileen Rogers
1991 Nicole Hurzeler
1992 Julia Ann Bowen
1993 Kevin Michael Saylor
1994 Jean Ann Kirwin
1995 Heatherlynn Waldo
1996 Karla Castro-Frenzel
1997 Justin Alan Torres
1998 Daniel R. Gibbons & Daniel Thomas Kennelly
1999 Sarah S. Halverson
2000 Shannon Bralick
2001 William John Junker
2002 Cheryl Ann Miller
2003 Elizabeth M. Cowan
2004 Jane R. Fiegenschue
2005 Anna Marie Breuer
2006 Mary Christine Kolner
2007 Sara Ashley Wood
2008 Joseph D. Boyne & Katherine I. Collins
2009 Mary Patricia Jones
2010 Jocelyn Selle Malone & Mary Elizabeth Schuhriemen
2011 Therese Marie Couture & Joseph Edward Simmons
2012 Edward S. Turner IV
2013 Anna Sasha Kaladish
2014 Evan Michael Hierholzer & Christina Marie Witkowski
2015 Monica Faith Dickson & Alexa Nicole Turczynski
2016 Ann Clara Kuehl
2017 Molly Elizabeth Wierman
2018 Mara Therese Borer & Theresa Marie Guin
2019 Genevieve Marie Frank
2020 Rose Marie Dougherty and Maria Therese Rossini
2021 Jasmine Alexis Adams and Joseph Xavier Boyle
2022 Edward T. Gramling