Campus mourns the passing of Dr. John Perry, MC’s first tenured African American professor
Jan. 14, 2022
Dr. John H. Perry, former associate professor of physical education at Maryville College and the College’s first tenured African American professor, passed away Jan. 5. He was 80 years old.
An Omega Service will take place at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, at Lennon-Seney United Methodist Church in Knoxville, followed by the receiving of friends at 1 p.m. and funeral services at 1:30 p.m. Rev. Leah Burns will officiate, and the Rev. Dr. Adam McKee will provide the eulogy. COVID-19 protocols will be followed, and masks are required.
Perry taught at the College from 1985 until 2003 and served as chair of the College’s Department of Physical Education from 1985 until 1996. In 1989, he became the first African American professor to receive tenure.
Across campus, Perry is being remembered as an optimistic, encouraging professor who was deeply committed to his students.
“John Perry would always make himself available and approachable to his students and colleagues,” said Randy Lambert ’76, former athletic director and colleague who worked with Perry in Cooper Athletic Center. “He had such a pleasant and positive attitude toward life. We worked together for several years, and I never knew him to have a bad day.
“As an educator, he was enthusiastic and caring. I loved the way he engaged his students. He was always ready to share a humorous story or a real-life scenario,” Lambert added. “He was a teacher in the truest sense, and he loved his students and his job.”
A native of Knoxville, Perry graduated in 1959 from Austin High School and received a bachelor’s degree from Knoxville College in 1964. He went on to obtain a master of science degree in education from the University of Tennessee in 1967 and a doctor of philosophy degree in education from Southern Illinois University in 1980. Prior to coming to MC, he taught physical education for 15 years at Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, Miss. He was also a 60-year member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
Larry Ervin ’97, director of the College’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion and a close friend of Perry’s, said the former professor’s optimism was omnipresent, from the gymnasium to the classroom.
“He never met a stranger, especially when it came to students,” Ervin said. “He had a way of challenging them to think about their future wellbeing.”
Dr. Lori Schmied, psychology professor and former chair of the faculty, said she remembers him as “a champion of lifelong learning and the inherent value of play and exercise in personal development.”
“A genuinely kind and caring teacher and colleague, he was a strong student advocate, especially for our students of color and first-generation students,” Schmied added. “He fostered strong community connections through his classes with activities such as the local Special Olympics.
“His close colleague, Dr. Danny Pierce, described him as a ‘philosopher with a deep sense of justice, trust, and living life to the fullest.’”
A longtime volunteer of Blount County’s Special Olympics program, Perry involved his Special Populations classes in assisting with Special Olympics’ track and field and swim meets. He also served on the boards of Knoxville’s Metropolitan Y.M.C.A., the Eastside Branch of the Y.M.C.A. and the People Empowering People Program (PEPP) in inner city Knoxville.
In 1991, Perry was named a Distinguished Alumni of Historically and Predominately Black Colleges and Universities by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.
He is survived by his mother, Eula Boyd; his wife of 57 years, Joyce Kimbrough Perry; daughters Joycelyn Perry and Jarenda Perry-Goodman; sister Betty Lowery; and several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins and other relatives.
