[1] Butler-Purry majored in electrical engineering at Southern University, a historically black school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, graduating summa cum laude in 1985.
During this period she also held short-term positions at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, IBM, Hughes Aircraft Company, and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
In 2001, she was promoted to associate professor, also becoming assistant dean for graduate programs in the College of Engineering.
[2] Butler-Purry was the 2005 recipient of the Mentor Award of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, for her "extraordinary leadership in mentoring and securing funding to foster Ph.D. careers for underrepresented students in electrical engineering and computer sciences".
[5] In 2000, Butler-Purry married Ralph Purry, a retired sergeant in the United States Marine Corps.