Deb L. Marciano, Ph.D.

I am a professor in both the graduate and undergraduate Elementary Education programs at Valdosta State University, in Valdosta, GA. VSU is a regional comprehensive university in the southeastern United States, with an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, in more than 100 majors. I earned my Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction, with a focus in Literacy Education, at The Pennsylvania State University. My Masters Degree (Secondary Special Education) and my Bachelor's Degree (Early Childhood and Special Education) were both earned at Rhode Island College.

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I have a collection of over 2000 children's books and I love to share them with my students! Here are some of my favorites (who are also my friends): Michael Emberley, Tomie dePaola, Jerry Pallotta, Marie Louise Fitzpatrick, and Stephen Savage. The Adventures of Pinocchio is my favorite book. I have 25 different versions - several in Italian.

 

Besides reading, writing, and teaching, I am an avid traveler, cook, and photographer. I share some of my most recent photos on this site. My husband, Ray C. Noll 3rd, (artist and author of Initiation Rites: A West African Odyssey) and I also enjoy gardening, cooking, DYI projects, and entertaining friends and family. And I am still studying Italian language and culture. 

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I am a Rhode Island native, so I love the Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and Providence College basketball. I earned my doctorate from and taught at Penn State University, so I am a tried and true Nittany Lion, as well.

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Italy (especially Siena) is my favorite place to visit. It has been fun to trace my roots, visit historical locations, and enjoy the plethora of art, architecture, scenery, and cuisine this magnificent country has to offer. During the summer of 2005, I lived and taught in Rome while teaching for Penn State University's program in Family Studies & Human Development. In 2015, I designed a program for VSU, visiting and teaching lessons in schools in our sister locale, Valle d'Aosta, and in Marano Sul Panaro, in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Children, Culture, and Cuisine was a success and resulted in three conference presentations and three peer-reviewed publications.

                                                                   I enjoy my volunteer work with the Lowndes                                                                      County Historic Society, where I am helping

                                                                   to organize materials about our sister city,

                                                                   in Valle d'Aosta, Italy.