Carolyn Summers and Tad Perry, Hall of Sponsors Scholarship

Carolyn and Tad Perry are both CMU graduates and active with the CMU community.Carolyn as a member of the CMU Alumni Association Board of Directors and Tad as a member of the Board of Trustees since 2000 [Board Chair 2013-2021].Carolyn [Summers] graduated from Central Methodist [College] University in 1966 where she distinguished herself as a leader [president of her Delta Phi Omega sorority, student body secretary, member of the Judicial Court, elected to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities]. She was a math and business major [not majors where you found many women]. This despite the fact she came to college after skipping her senior year at Armstrong High School.In 1966 she began what became a twenty-seven-year career with IBM.On multiple occasions she was recognized by IBM. A marker for the Regional Manager’s Award is the special Waterford glass vase sitting on her fireplace mantle with a rose in it. Indiana’s Highest Sales Award was twice enjoyed. Carolyn was truly an elite IBMer.Having worked in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, in 1989, she added Indiana to her states when she married Tad Perry, a fellow CMU graduate. Upon retirement from IBM, it was less than a week before a friend approached her about working during the South Dakota legislative session.Carolyn became the Second Assistant to the Clerk of the South Dakota House of Representatives, often referred to as the Bill Clerk.She spent nine years in this role.Tad, a 1965 graduate, majored in Political Science. As an undergraduate he was president of his fraternity [Mokers], was a class officer and member of the Student Council, editor of the 1964 Ragout, and was elected to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. After graduation, Tad earned graduate degrees [M.A. and Ph.D.] from the University of Missouri-Columbia before becoming a Professor of Political Science at Ball State University. He concluded his twenty-three year career at Ball State as a university administrator when he became the Executive Director for the South Dakota Board of Regents, the CEO of the public university system. In 2009, he retired after fifteen years in that role. He is the past chair of both the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. In 2010, he was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives.Both Carolyn and Tad have extensive CMU connections.Carolyn’s parents were both alumni. Tad’s father was chairman of the English Department for twenty years [1943-1963]. Their family is in a third generation of members attending CMU.Being fully retired for the past decade the Perrys continue to live in South Dakota.They travel extensively to see their four children and five grandchildren and other wonders of the world.Their favorite travel story is when on top of a Swiss mountain they took a rest break at a small tavern where one other couple was seated. A voice calls out “Tad is that you?”. The other couple in that remote place were Fred and Jenny Bergsten, both CMU graduates and past members of the Board of Trustees, wearing CMU sweatshirts. Four CMU graduates 5,000 miles from campus.