Chancellorship at UT Martin

Dr. Margaret N. Perry was the sixth chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Martin and served from 1986-1997.

She was the first woman to serve as an executive officer in the University of Tennessee system and the first at any four-year public institution in the state of Tennessee.

Perry led the campus through the economic downturn of the late 1980s and into recovery during the 1990s.

She received numerous honors and awards for her state, regional and national work in higher education.

Highpoints of her tenure include major renovations to the Johnson Engineering and Physical Sciences Building, the Boling University Center, and the Paul Meek Library, as well as the construction of the children's center.

She oversaw the approval of new degree programs including a bachelor’s degree in engineering, the surpassing of funding goals for the UT system's 21st Century Campaign, and the athletic transition to Division I and the Ohio Valley Conference.

The UT Martin Pacers became the Skyhawks in 1985 during her administration.

Known as a 'student’s chancellor,' Perry involved faculty and faculty committees in decision-making, earning respect on and off campus.

After 11 years as chancellor, second in length only to Dr. Paul Meek, she was awarded the title of chancellor emeritus upon her retirement in 1997.

Education and Early Career

Perry was born April 23, 1940, in Waynesboro.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics from the University of Tennessee, Martin Branch in 1961.

She received a Master of Science degree in nutrition from UT Knoxville in 1963 and a doctorate in nutrition and food science from the same campus in 1965.

Her higher education career began as a part-time instructor in UT Knoxville’s Department of Food Science in 1963, and she was appointed assistant professor in 1966.

Administrative Career Before Chancellorship

Perry served as assistant and associate dean of the College of Home Economics at UT Knoxville.

In 1973, she became the university's dean for graduate studies.

By 1979, she was appointed associate vice president for academic affairs at Tennessee Technological University, where she served until 1986.