The Baroness Pauline Perry

Baroness Perry read Moral Sciences (philosophy) at Girton College, Cambridge, where she received an MA. For the next 10 years she taught philosophy, mainly at post-graduate level, in America and Canada.

Appointed to HM Inspectorate of Schools in the UK in 1970, Baroness Perry was promoted to Staff Inspector in 1975. She worked with OECD on various projects, including Higher Education Co-Development, professional training, and teacher education. She also chaired the EC working group on teacher education. In 1981 she was promoted to Chief Inspector, professional adviser to the Secretary of State on higher education, teacher policies and international relations.

Baroness Perry took up her post as Vice-Chancellor of South Bank University (formerly Polytechnic) in January 1987, the first woman to head a University or Polytechnic in the UK. She was President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge from 1994-2001. She was Pro-Chancellor of the University of Surrey from 2001-2006 and Chair of the Council of Roehampton University from 2001-2006. She co-Chaired the Conservative Party Policy Commission on Public Service Reform 2006-7, the Church of England Inquiry into the Crown Appointments Commission 2000-2001, and the Nuffield Council on Bio-ethics report on Animals in Science 2003-2005.

From 1993-98 she was a member of the Overseas Project Board and chaired its Education Export Group. She was a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Group on the Citizens’ Charter from 1993 -97 and Chair of its Judges Panel from 1997-2004. She is currently a member of the Board of the Council for Education Economics, Chair of the Wandsworth schools Commission and a Patron of the Westminster Education Forum.

Baroness Perry was Co-Chair of the all party Parliamentary Universities Group 1996-2009. Amongst her Select Committee memberships is 17 years as a member of the Science and Technology Committee, membership of the inquiry into stem cell research and the Joint Committee (with the House of Commons) on Human Rights. She was Churchwarden at Southwark Cathedral from 1990-1995 and chaired the Friends of Southwark Cathedral 1996 – 2002.

Baroness Perry’s Honorary Fellowships include Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge and Girton College, Cambridge; the City & Guilds of London; the Swedish Academy of Science; Roehampton, Northampton and South Bank Universities. She is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. She has received 8 Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Aberdeen, Bath, City, South Bank, Surrey, Sussex, Wolverhampton and Mercy College, New York. She was made a Life Peer in June 1991. She has published numerous articles, contributed chapters in 12 books, and published four books.