Former University of Florida chairman dies

Nathan W. Perry, Ph.D., who served as chairman of the department of clinical and health psychology at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions for more than 20 years, died Dec. 1 in Tallahassee. He was 75.

"Nate Perry was a major force for the advancement of psychology at the University of Florida and throughout the nation," said Michael G. Perri, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Public Health and Health Professions. "His leadership blazed a trail that enabled others to make important clinical and research contributions in health psychology. The success of our department of clinical and health psychology stands as a lasting legacy of Nate Perry's pioneering efforts."

Perry received his doctorate in psychology from Florida State University in 1963 and joined the UF faculty that same year. He was chairman of the department of clinical and health psychology from 1977 until his retirement in 1998. Perry was a leading advocate at the national level for the "scientist-practitioner" model, which called for psychologists to be trained in both the underlying science of the profession as well as in clinical practice.

In his own research, Perry focused on vision and cognition and he was considered an expert on measurement of brain function and cognition using visual evoked potentials to measure electrical activity in the brain in response to visual stimuli.

"Nate was truly a giant in the field of clinical psychology; he was not only a crackerjack administrator and department chair, but he was also a first-rate scientist, performing some key early work on brain electrophysiological responses to complex visual stimuli," said Russell M. Bauer, Ph.D., chairman of the department of clinical and health psychology.

Perry served as president of the Florida Psychological Association, the Southeastern Psychological Association and the Society of Clinical Psychology, and was a member of the American Psychological Association's board of directors. He received the Florida Psychological Association's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

"He was a visionary, and our department and college continue to benefit from that vision," Bauer said.

Perry is survived by his wife, Suzanne Bennett Johnson, of Tallahassee, Fla.; his brother, Kenneth Eugene Perry, of Maryville, Tenn.; six children, Kathy Lynn Hope, of Lilburn, Ga., Warren Keith Perry, of Gainesville, Kevin Lee Perry, of Camden, S.C., Karol Hanson Tutton, of Lone Tree, Colo., Erika Marion Perry, of Hoboken, N.J., and Marissa Clara Perry of New York, N.Y.; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service for Perry will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 16 in the Grand Ballroom, FSU Alumni Hall, 1030 W. Tennessee St. in Tallahassee.