Background on Cynthia Shepard Perry
Cynthia Shepard Perry, ca.1986
Ambassador Cynthia Shepard Perry was born in Lost Creek, Indiana, outside of Terre Haute, Indiana, on November 11, 1928 as the fifth of nine children. In 1946, she graduated from Otter Creek High School as one of only two black students in her class. At the age of 16 and while raising her family, Perry decided that she wanted to be an ambassador. With the help of her family and her high school principal, Perry devised a twenty-five year plan to complete her goals. This journey included a degree in political science from Indiana State University in 1968; her doctorate in International Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1972, as the first recipient of a Ed.D. from the program of International Education; working at an international corporation; five years working in Africa; and completing five years of research.
Perry began her career in 1952 in Terre Haute, Indiana working at the Nichols Investment Corporation, and then moved to the IBM Corporation to work as an educational representative. She later served as the Director of the National Teacher Corps at the University of Massachusetts Amherst while she earned her doctorate. Following her time at the UMass, Perry joined the faculty of Texas Southern University as an associate professor and Associate Director of Teacher Corps/Peace Corps. She later became a full professor and Dean of International Affairs from 1978-1982.
Perry first went to Africa in 1969, as a part of the Operation Crossroads Africa project, a secretarial training program at the University of Nairobi. In 1973, Perry and her second husband, James O. Perry, returned to Nairobi for three years as her husband had taken a position with UNESCO at the University of Nairobi. During this time, she trained Peace Corps paramedical volunteers, lectured at the University, and served as a consultant to the IUnited States Information Service in Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia. In 1974, Perry was a member of diplomatic delegations to Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia. In 1976, she was appointed to the position of Staff Development Officer at the UN Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Perry's diplomatic journey began in 1982, with her appointment to the position of Chief of the Education and Human Resources Division in the Africa Bureau of the Agency of International Development (A.I.D.) by President Ronald Reagan. She held this position until she was appointed Ambassador to Sierra Leone, where she served as Ambassador from 1986-1989. In 1989, she was appointed Ambassador to Burundi by the new President George H. Bush, and served in Burundi for the entirety of the Bush administration from 1989-1993. In addition to her diplomatic work as an ambassador, Perry also served as Honorary Consul General for Senegal and currently serves as Honorary Consul General for Rwanda.
In 1996, President George W. Bush appointed her Regent of Texas Woman's University during his time as governor of Texas. Perry served there until 2001, when President George W. Bush appointed her U.S. Executive Director of the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and later, Tunis, Tunisia. She held this position until her retirement in 2007. Shortly afterward, the Ambassador returned to Houston, where she remains active in supporting education and development in Africa. Among many other awards she has received, Perry was the recipient of an honorary doctorate from UMass Amherst for her international work and was recognized by the Salute to Service Award.
