Although summer presents a fun and relaxing time for students, President William Perry is working in his Old Main office, preparing for the fall.

“It’s pretty much business as usual,” he said.

This summer Perry plans to work on the budget, vacation for a week and tend to the usual university business.

As always, Perry will have his weekly meeting with vice presidents as well as some extra time to travel.

Perry said he will be traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with the Illinois delegation and representatives of federal agencies to further develop the advancement of the university.

He said he will spend about three days there.

Along with traveling to D.C., Perry will take a week off to go to Colorado with his wife. He plans to read, hike, relax and recharge.

“I’ve got my book, so I’ll be preparing for Eastern Reads,” he said.

Perry said the summer and school year are pretty much the same.

“The difference is, in the summer it’s easier to get away on vacation for a week or two,” he said.

Unknown to many students, Perry will be teaching a math class in the fall.

He said he is preparing to teach Linear Algebra on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m.

As well as preparing for his class, Perry said he is going to attempt to stop by some departments to see how things are going.

Talking with incoming students and parents at debut days is also a task for the summer.

“I find out things that are important with respect to the university: how people regard the university, what they think about the psychical campus, what they think about our academic programs, the affordability of Eastern, all those kinds of things that are critically important to us,” he said.

Perry said the summer is a time for goal setting at the university.

He said he has a few goals that have been completed as well as some still on the to-do list.

One of the goals was the completion of Textbook Rental Online, which was done by the help of Vice President of Student Affairs Dan Nadler.

“A lot of things that we’re doing this summer are working towards some goals that I want to have occur before the end of the next fiscal year,” he said. “We’re always looking out at least a year or two or three years in terms of our goals and what we want to achieve.”

Besides being the president of Eastern, Perry will spend his summer outdoors and enjoy the weather. He likes to work out in the yard as well as go to local festivals and events.

“You can be out and about, I guess that’s one of things I like best about the summer, more outdoor time,” he said.

Kristin Jording can be reached at 581-7942 or kejording@eiu.edu.