Manley was the first to achieve the rank of Assistant Surgeon General (Rear Admiral) in 1988 and later served as the eighth president of Spelman College.

[3] In 1970, Manley moved back to Atlanta after her marriage and began to work at Grady Memorial Hospital's Emory University Family Planning Clinic as the Chief of Medical Services.

[1] She simultaneously began to serve as "First Lady" for the remainder of her husband's tenure as the fifth president of Spelman College and created initiatives such as the Health Career Program.

[3][4] Manley became the first black woman to serve as acting surgeon general of the United States from 1995 to 1997, between the tenures of Joycelyn Elders and J. Jarrett Clinton.

During her tenure, the college continued to achieve high rankings in multiple areas, including the second-highest producer of black medical students.

[6] Though Manley has been retired since 2002, she continues to be involved in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

[1] During Manley's youth, she was well-connected in the black community, attending social events with the likes of Roy Wood and Don Cornelius.