Robert D. Manning is the Caroline Werner Gannett Professor of the Humanities, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Research Associate of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego.
Prior to joining RIT, he was a Visiting Research Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, Visiting Professor in Latin American Studies at Georgetown University, Senior Social Science Analyst at the Smithsonian Institution, and Senior Fulbright Lecturer to Mexico. His doctorate is from The Johns Hopkins University with a specialization in Comparative International Development. He has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Haiti, and Cuba.

Author of over 50 academic articles, book chapters, and research reports, his current work focuses on the deregulation of the U.S. banking industry and the emergence of global financial services conglomerates. Dr. Manning's recent book, Credit Card Nation, has received national and international attention including expert testimonies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary and Banking Committees, U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, and the U.S. General Accounting Office.