Waynesboro, Tennessee, native Margaret Perry received the Bachelor of Science degree in 1961 from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Her graduate degrees in Nutrition and Food Science are from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (M.S., 1963; Ph.D., 1965). Perry joined the UTK faculty in 1963 as an instructor in the Department of Food Science. She continued teaching while serving as assistant to the Dean, Assistant Dean, and Associate Dean of the College of Home Economics.
Dr. Perry was named UTK Dean for Graduate Studies in 1973, a post she held for six years until she joined the administration of Tennessee Technological University as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. While at the University of Tennessee, Perry was active in the Faculty Senate, serving on a number of committees including Continuing Education for Women, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Black Studies. Her expertise was recognized nationally as she was named to the executive boards of the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States (1974-1977) and the Southern Conference of Graduate Schools (1975-1978).
At Tennessee Tech, Perry initiated the study of and implemented the program for a university-operated day care center. She also administered TTU's new School of Nursing until it's dean and faculty were in place, and was the interim director of the Joe L. Evins Appalachian Center for Crafts (1982-1983).
In 1986 Margaret Perry was named Chancellor of the University of Tennessee at Martin, the first woman to head a four-year institution of public higher education in the state of Tennessee. She continued her representation on the national level as a member of the Committee on International Affairs for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Commission on Minorities in Higher Education of the American Council on Education, and the U.S. Department of Education's Advisory Council on Educational Statistics. Perry received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the UTK College of Human Ecology and the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Tennessee State 4-H Club in 1986. She is a member of Sigma Xi, Omicron Nu, and Phi Kappa Phi honoraries, and has been named to American Men and Women in Science and Who's Who in America.
Margaret Perry is married to Dr. Randy Perry, Dean of the School of Engineering Technology and Engineering at UT Martin. They have two sons, Paul and Sam. She announced her retirement as Chancellor in January 1998.