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Manzano, Lester

Clinical Assistant Professor; Assistant Vice President for Student Academic Services

Lester Manzano, PhD (he/him) serves as Assistant Vice President for Student Academic Services within the Enrollment Management and Student Success division at Loyola University Chicago. He provides strategic leadership for academic support units including First and Second Year Advising; New Student Programs; Scholars Programs (Achieving College Excellence TRIO Student Support Services, Academic Enrichment Programs, Leadership Scholars Program); the Student Accessibility Center; Student-Athlete Academic Services; and the Tutoring Center. He previously served as Associate Dean of Students in the Division of Student Development and as Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences. Prior to arriving at Loyola, Dr. Manzano served as Director of Residence Life at Lake Forest College and as Assistant Director of Residential Life at Colgate University.

A member of NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education since 1997, Dr. Manzano has served on the Conference Leadership Committee for the 2025 NASPA Annual Conference, served as chair of local arrangements for the 2011 NASPA Region IV-East Conference in Chicago, was director of the 2011 and 2012 NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program (NUFP) Dungy Leadership Institutes, and served as chair of the NUFP Board in 2013–2015. In 2023, he was appointed as a faculty mentor for the NASPA Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) Leadership Academy.

Dr. Manzano holds an appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Education where he teaches graduate courses in higher education; he is also an Associate Faculty member of The Graduate School.

Education

  • PhD, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • MEd, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
  • BA, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Research Interests

  • College-student success
  • College-student leadership and student activism

Professional/Community Affiliations

  • ACPA–College Student Educators International
  • Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS)
  • Association for Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD)
  • Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
  • NACADA–The Global Community for Academic Advising
  • NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

Courses Taught

  • ELPS 425: Foundations in Student Affairs
  • ELPS 432: Multiculturalism for Social Justice in Higher Education
  • ELPS 508: Equity and Justice in Higher Education
  • UNIV 101: First-Year Seminar
  • UNIV 201: Transfer Seminar

Publications/Research Listings

  • Manzano, L. J. (2022). College student activism. In K. Nadal, A. Tintiangco-Cubales, & E. J. R. David (Eds.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Filipina/x/o American Studies. SAGE Publishing, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071828960
  • Manzano, L. J. (2019). [Review of the book Learning from the learners: Successful college students share their effective learning habits, by E. Berry, B. J. Huber, & C. Z. Rawitch (Eds.)]. Journal of Teaching Writing, 34(1), 103–110. https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/teachingwriting/article/view/23316
  • Squire, D. D., Jourian, T. J., Kelly, B. T., Byrd, A. M., Manzano, L. J., & Bumbry, M. (2018). A critical race feminist analysis of men of color matriculating into a higher education doctoral program. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 11, 16–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000025
  • Manzano, L. J., Poon, O. A., & Na, V. S. (2017). Asian American student engagement in student leadership and activism. In D. C. Miramba & C. M. Kodama (Eds.), Bridging research and practice to support Asian American students (New Directions for Student Services, No. 160, pp. 65–79). Jossey-Bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20244
  • Kodama, C. M., Poon, O. A., Manzano, L. J., & Sihite, E. U. (2017). Geographic constructions of race: The Midwest Asian American Students Union. Journal of College Student Development, 58, 872–890. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2017.0069
  • Poon, O. A., Squire, D. D., Kodama, C. M., Byrd, A., Chan, J., Manzano, L. J., Furr, S., & Bishundat, D. (2016). A critical review of the model minority myth in selected literature on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in higher education. Review of Educational Research, 86, 469–502. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315612205
  • Manzano, L. J. (2007). [Review of the book Collaboration between student affairs and institutional researchers to improve institutional effectiveness, by J. Worth Pickering & G. R. Hanson]. NACADA Journal, 27(1). https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Journal/Book-Reviews.aspx
  • Manzano, L. J. (1999). [Review of the book Motivating students, by S. Brown, S. Armstrong, & G. Thompson]. Journal of College Student Development, 40(2), 195–197. https://www.myacpa.org/JCSD