Alumnus Mark Manley serves as director for USC’s Office of Professionalism and Ethics
As a federal investigation continues into a college admissions bribery scandal sweeping top universities across the nation, USC’s professionalism and ethics director and UCI alumnus Mark M. Manley is doing his part to ensure transparent and fair resolutions.
Recently hired as the new office’s second in command, Manley calmly explains: “we are helping facilitate the federal government’s ongoing investigation and like all the other universities involved, we’re doing our own internal investigation as well.”
Such probes define his new position in the Office of Professionalism and Ethics, which officially began operation in September. It is the central hub for the monitoring and tracking of complaints and investigations of all types like student and workplace conflict, discrimination and inappropriate behavior.
“I’m excited about the opportunities we have to make USC a leader in this area,” says Manley, adding that few higher education institutions have such offices. “We serve faculty, staff, students, as well as others connected to the university. I think the value that our office brings and that I bring as an outsider to higher education is that we can look at processes and improvements for handling investigations with a fresh perspective.”
To that end, a centralized database for monitoring the progress of investigations throughout the USC campus, which allows those offices involved in the handling of complaints and investigations to manage those processes, recently rolled out, says Manley, a former Costa Mesa police captain. The system “allows our office to look at the entire complaint database and understand what’s happening within the university.”
In addition, he says, it ensures “nothing falls through the cracks.” And, with the big data it gathers, he aims to create efficiencies and be proactive in addressing areas of risk. For example, he can examine how different complaints are handled by various offices, including the 35 human resources offices throughout the university, and make recommendations for best practices.
“We will hopefully help make course corrections that are necessary to advance the university’s core values,” he says. “Our ultimate mission is to provide a healthy educational and work environment that gives students, as well as faculty and staff, the skills necessary to model what we hope to be the best parts of our society — people of character who contribute to the greater good within society. And, we take this responsibility seriously.”
That’s why “accountability is huge and I really think we will be a model that other universities look to emulate in the future,” Manley says.
Meanwhile, he is calling on his experiences as a longtime member of the Costa Mesa Police Department to help USC weather campus controversies and be transparent as resolutions are found.
Manley served in the Coast Guard Reserve and worked as a police officer while studying part-time at UCI during the 1990s. He completed his bachelor’s degree in criminology, law and society in 1999.
The former high school athlete and cast member at Disneyland is moving toward completion of his master’s degree in sports administration from American Military University. He believes anyone in a position of influence, whether an athlete, teacher or college administrator, should model good behavior and seek opportunities to give back to others.
“In positions like mine, there’s an opportunity to be a role model and if you don’t live up to that, you are really missing an opportunity to benefit others and help them grow as people and professionals,” Manley says.
About Mark Manley
Residence: Huntington Beach
Family: wife Annette; and children Christian, 25; Aidan, 23; and Sofia, 14
Education: B.A. in criminology, law and society from UCI
Favorite sport: college football
Favorite movie: “Rudy”
Hobbies: hiking, surfing and traveling with his family
Advice for college students: “Take complete advantage of the opportunity that has been given to you at any university, especially UCI. There is such an opportunity for personal growth that I don’t think you can truly appreciate when you’re young.”
On UCI: “I gained the ability to learn critical thinking skills, to develop my own opinions and to strive to be someone who makes others better. At UCI, I was surrounded by amazing faculty and amazing students. I probably saw more growth in my life in those years at UCI than really anywhere else. I definitely came out of UCI a different person with the ability to be confident in the way I viewed the world, problems and solutions. I owe that to my amazing experience and faculty at UCI. One of the best classes I took was about social justice within the criminal justice system and looking at opportunities to ensure that due process is afforded and that we maintain a criminal justice system that does not falsely accuse or convict those who are innocent. There are still examples exposed everyday of people being wrongly incarcerated and I think the U.S. can and should take the lead in changing that.”
— by Mimi Ko Cruz