Dr. Simon Perry earned an A.B. in Political Science and History from Berea College in 1954, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1955, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Michigan State University in 1961. He joined the faculty at Marshall University as an Associate Professor in the fall of 1962 and retired from active duty in the spring of 2010 as Professor Emeritus, making his 48-year tenure as a faculty member the longest in the history of the institution. Among numerous noteworthy honors, Dr. Perry was the recipient of the Marshall University Distinguished Faculty Award, two separate Governors presented him with the prestigious Distinguished West Virginian Award, and in 2010, he won the College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teaching Award. In order to honor his tremendous impact on the lives of generations of Marshall students, the Drinko Academy and the College of Liberal Arts joined together to establish the Simon Perry Center for Constitutional Democracy in 2011. That year, Dr. Perry also delivered the inaugural lecture of the Marshall University Robert C. Byrd Forum on Civic Responsibility. His address, entitled “The Founding Fathers and Religion,” was later extended into a highly acclaimed article. In the fall of 2013, Dr. Perry published his most recent book, entitled Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson: By Their Deeds You Shall Know Them. Dr. Simon Perry passed away on January 27, 2023.