Pauline Perry, Baroness Perry of Southwark (née Welch; born 15 October 1931) is an educator, educationist, academic, and activist. She is a Conservative politician and was for 25 years a working member of the British House of Lords. In 1981 she became Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England. In 1986 she became Vice-Chancellor of South Bank Polytechnic, and serving during its transition to a university, became the first woman in history to run a British university.

Early life

Perry was educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School and Girton College, Cambridge. where she read Moral Sciences (philosophy) and received her MA. For the next 10 years she taught philosophy, mainly at post-graduate level, teaching in England, Canada and the USA. In 1952 she married Oxford University lecturer George Perry, and had three sons and a daughter (Christopher, Timothy, Simon and Hilary).

Career

In 1970, Perry joined HM Inspectorate at the Department of Education and Science, and was appointed Chief Inspector in 1981. In 1986 she became Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of South Bank Polytechnic, and serving during its transition to a university became the first woman in history to run a British university. In 1994 she was elected President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. and served as Head of House for 7 years until 2001. She subsequently held other roles including pro-chancellor of the University of Surrey 2001–2005, Chair of Governors at Roehampton Institute 2001–2005 (which was granted university status in 2003). In 1986, she collaborated with John Cassels and James Prior to create the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE), which would become the National Centre for Universities and Business in 2013. She has also been active in the Southwark Cathedral and Church of England community and the City of London. She was appointed by General Synod as chair of the review group examining the operation of the Crown Appointment Commission, the body which nominates Diocesan Bishops. The Perry Report "Working with the Spirit", was published in May 2001 and led to more transparent selection procedures for the appointment of Anglican Bishops. She was Rector's Warden of Southwark Cathedral from 1990 to 1995. Perry was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in 1991. She was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (2003–05), and chaired the Working Party on the Ethics of research involving animals. She has also served as Chair of the Commission on Secondary Reorganisation for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham; Chair of the Commission on Academies and Free Schools in the London Borough of Wandsworth; Co-chair of The Conservatives Public Services Commission, which reported in 2007; and Chair of the Governing Body of Kaplan College and Law School, in 2013. In 2018 the Furfure Educational Trust for Leadership (FETL) who a blog about women who shaped further education, and devoted a whole article to Baroness Pauline Perry, for all of her work with education entitled [https://fetl.org.uk/inspiration-thinking/blogs-think-pieces/100-years-of-women-in-fe-and-skills-a-passion-for-opportunity-pauline-perry/ 100 years of women in FE and skills. A passion for opportunity: Pauline Perry]

UK Parliament

On 16 July 1991, she became a life peer as The Right Honourable Baroness Perry of Southwark, of Charlbury in the County of Oxfordshire. She sits on the Conservative Party benches. She was appointed a Conservative Party Whip in the Lords in January 2011. She retired from the Lords on 26 May 2016.

Parliamentary Committees

The official record can be found on her House of Lords career page.

Appointments

2010 to 2019

2000 to 2009

1990 to 1999

1980 to 1989

1970 to 1979

1960 to 1969

Other Memberships (not dated)

The list of appointments can be found in the Who's Who publication.

Honorary Doctorates and Fellowships

The Rt Hon Baroness Perry of Southwark has been awarded the following academic honorary doctorates and fellowships by university's worldwide for her work.

Doctorates

Fellowships

Companion of the Institute of Management

Books and Published Works

She has published numerous articles, contributed chapters in twelve books, and published five books.

Published Books

Her book can be found on the authors page on Amazon and on Google Books.

Biographical Publications

Pauline Perry appears in several biographical publications which reference her career and achievements.

Arms

Sources