Charles R. Perry, associate professor emeritus of management at the Wharton School, died at home in Chelsea, Michigan, on March 15. He was 77 years old.

Dr. Perry completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, then earned his MBA and PhD from the University of Chicago.

Dr. Perry joined the Penn faculty in 1966 as an assistant professor of industry. In 1972, he was promoted to associate professor of management with tenure. He received a secondary appointment in the Public Management Unit in 1979.

While at Penn, he served on the University Council’s Committee on Undergraduate Admissions & Financial Aid. He also served as a representative of Penn’s I Can Quit smoking cessation program (Almanac November 19, 1985).

In the 1970s, he took a leave from the Wharton School to act as executive assistant to the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States.

Throughout his career, he researched labor relations, with a particular focus on women and minorities, especially in urban areas. His publications include The Negro in the Department Store Industry (1971, Penn Press) and The Labor Relations Climate and Management Rights in Urban School Systems: The Case of Philadelphia (1974, Penn Press).

He also co-authored The Impact of Negotiations in Public Education: The Evidence From the Schools (with Wesley A. Wildman, 1970, Charles A. Jones Publishing Co.); Negro Employment in Retail Trade: A Study of Racial Policies in the Department Store, Drugstore and Supermarket Industries (with Gordon F. Bloom and F. Marion Fletcher, 1972, Penn Press); The Impact of Government Manpower Programs in General and on Minorities and Women (with Richard L. Rowan, Bernard E. Anderson, Herbert R. Northrup and others, 1975, Penn Press); and Disintegration and Change: Labor Relations in the Meat Packing Industry (with Delwyn H. Kegley, 1989, Penn Press).

Dr. Perry retired from Penn and took emeritus status in 1999.

He is survived by his wife, Karen; two daughters, Diane Perry and Linda Mazzoni; one stepson, Brian Tyler; one stepdaughter, Erika Tyler; one granddaughter, Kaiya Firor; and four step-grandchildren, Jeremy, Andrew, Jamie and Gwendolyn Tyler.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the University of Michigan Medical Center Research Fund, University of Michigan Health System, Office of Medical Development, 1000 Oakwood Drive, Suite 100, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-6815, RE: Charles Perry, Donation; or online at http://victor.us/charlesperry