Ervin Sewell Perry (1935–December 14, 1970) was an American

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

who became the first Black faculty member at a predominantly White university in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

when he was appointed in 1964 at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Perry–Castañeda Library The Perry–Castañeda Library (PCL) is the main central library of the University of Texas at Austin library system in Austin, Texas. PCL is located at 21st Street and Speedway in Austin, TX. The UT Austin campus library system holds nearly ei ...

, the main central library of the University of Texas at Austin library system, is named in his honor. Perry received the Young Engineer of the Year award from the

National Society of Professional Engineers The National Society of Professional Engineers (abbreviate as NSPE) is a professional association representing licensed professional engineers in the United States. NSPE is the recognized voice and advocate of licensed Professional Engineers repr ...

in 1970.

Early life and education

Perry was born and raised in Coldspring, Texas. He was one of four sons and four daughters born to Willie and Edna Perry. He graduated from Prairie View A&M College in 1956 and received its Distinguished Graduate Award. He earned his Master of Science degree in 1961 and his Ph.D. degree in 1964, both at the University of Texas.

Career

After graduation, Perry taught at Prairie View A&M and

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

. In 1964, Perry joined the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Texas. He was promoted to associate professor in 1969. For the 1967–68 academic year, Perry was selected by the

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,600 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educati ...

for an academic administration internship at

Drexel Institute of Technology Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel In ...

Personal life

Perry and his wife, Jean, had three daughters. Perry died in Houston on December 14, 1970, of cancer.

References

Prairie View A&M University alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty American engineers 1935 births 1970 deaths {{US-engineer-stub