Asian Actor and Scholar Visits Ohio University-Zanesville

Zanesville, OH –  Mano Maniam, actor and scholar who lives in Malaysia, visited Ohio University-Zanesville recently. Rick Shriver, Associate Professor of Electronic Media at the Zanesville campus and a member of the Southeast Asian Studies faculty in Athens Ohio University Southeast Asian Studies program received the funding from the Henry Luce Foundation to bring the International Scholar to the United States .

Best known in the United States for his role in Anna and the King with actress Jodie Foster, Maniam visited Ken Collins' Film class. He also spoke with Dr. Sheida Shirvani’s Cross Cultural Communication class and to Dr. Tom Stevenson’s Intercultural Anthropology class.

 “Many of our students do not get the opportunity to travel internationally especially not as far as Southeast Asia,” says Shriver. “So the value of Mano’s visit is in his sharing his cultural and religious customs with Ohio University-Zanesville students.”

In his home country Maniam stars in a weekly sitcom called Kopi Tiam. He also teaches at University of Malaya and the Multimedia University and is the president of the Fulbright Alumni Association. In addition to his an acting career that spans more than 40 years, Maniam has 20 years experience in organizational management, educational administration and arts management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Malaya and a master’s degree in International Administration from the School for International Training in Vermont.