James L. Perry is an internationally recognized leader in public administration and the study of public organization management. He joined O'Neill's faculty in 1985 and serves as Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Chancellor's Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs Emeritus. He is also affiliate professor of philanthropic studies. Perry's 40 years of scholarship includes expertise in public management, public organizational behavior, government and civil service reform, national and community service, public service motivation, and performance-related pay. Perry has held faculty appointments at Yonsei University, University of California, Irvine, The University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Perry is the former editor-in-chief of Public Administration Review and serves on the editorial board for Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly and International Review of Public Administration. He has authored or edited 10 books and more than 150 articles and book chapters, including the Handbook of Public Administration, Third Edition (Jossey-Bass, 2015, co-edited with Robert Christensen). Perry also co-authored the book Civic Service: What Difference Does It Make? which earned the 2004 Best Book Award from the Public and Nonprofit Division, Academy of Management.

Perry is recipient of several prestigious professional awards including the Yoder-Heneman Award for innovative personnel research from the Society for Human Resource Management and the Charles H. Levine Memorial Award for Excellence in Public Administration, and the Distinguished Research Award, given jointly by the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. ASPA has recognized Perry with two additional awards: the Paul P. Van Riper Award for Excellence and Service and the Dwight Waldo Award for career contributions (of at least 25 years) to the literature of public administration. He has twice been selected for Fulbright Fellowships and is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.