At Sacramento State, he specialized in labor economics and sports economics and served as an assistant to the president for special projects, faculty athletics representative, and interim provost before being promoted to provost and vice president of academic affairs in the fall of 2019.
[1][2] On November 22, 2021 California State University Chancellor Joseph I. Castro appointed Perez to serve as the interim president of San José State University after Mary Papazian, the previous president, announced that she would be resigning on December 21, 2021, in the aftermath of a sex abuse scandal.
Throughout his term as interim president, he worked to increase university enrollment and diversity.
[5] His term ended on January 16, 2023, when Cynthia Teniente-Matson assumed the office.
[6] Six days prior to the end of his term at San Jose State, it was announced that Perez would be joining California State University, Chico as an interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.