Robert D. Manning, PhD
Research Professor & Director
Center for Consumer Financial Services
Rochester Institute of Technology
Robert D. Manning, PhD, Research Professor and Director of the Center for Consumer Financial Services, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York is the creative force behind the RDR algorithm. He is the founder and president of the non-profit corporation, Responsible Debt Relief , whose mission it is to alleviate the debt problems of the “near bankrupt” and others undergoing serious financial stress.
Author of the widely acclaimed Credit Card Nation (revision due 2009, Cornell University Press) and Living With Debt, sponsored by LendingTree.com. A documentary based on his research, “In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts” was released in January 2007. In December ‘08 he gave a presentation at Lackland Air Force Base for the Financial Readiness Challenge Campaign.
Dr. Manning is a specialist in consumer finance, financial education, retail banking deregulation, race and ethnic studies, and globalization. Dr. Manning is a Filene Fellows member and is currently conducting a Filene sponsored study on WalMart’s strategy to become a global consumer financial services company. A frequently invited expert at US Congressional Committee hearings (US Senate Banking, Judiciary, US House Financial Services), Professor Manning’s research has influenced public policy debate on consumer debt in the US and several countries including Canada, UK, India, China and Australia.