William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University

The Dr. William J. Perry Award Selection Process

Every year the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) selects individuals and/or institutions to receive the Dr. William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education. 

The awards recognize significant contributions that reflect the Center’s mission. These contributions include the promotion of education, research, outreach and knowledge-sharing in defense and security issues in the Western Hemisphere that lead to enhancing professional security and defense capacity, advancing a cooperative international security environment, fostering effective civil-military relations and adherence to the CHDS’ core values.

Eligibility:  Candidates for eligibility include any individual or institution that has made a superb contribution in either academic or policy issues related to the security and defense sectors.  They may be educators, practitioners, or institutions of defense and security throughout the Hemisphere, or from outside the region.

Selection Criteria:  The process for nominating a candidate is open to June 15, 2011.  Nominations for the award should be based on the candidate's or candidate institution’s significant contribution, as outlined above.

Nomination process:  Nominations should be sent, in writing, to the CHDS selection committee, providing the name of the individual or organization, the name of the nominator and contact information for both, a justification for nomination, and strong supportive material.  The total package should not exceed 3,000 words.

Selection Process:  A CHDS selection committee will review the nominations and recommend a recipient or recipients to the CHDS Director, who will review and select the awardees.

Presentation:  The Dr. William J. Perry Award will be presented to the individual or representative of the institution selected, at a ceremony held during the third week of September, 2011, coinciding with the anniversary of the Center's foundation.

Dateline:  All nominations must be submitted by June 15, 2011.

Point of Contact:  The point of contact to which nominations should be sent is Prof. Martin Edwin Andersen, CHDS Perry Award Project Coordinator. Electronic submissions should be sent to andersenm@ndu.edu; paper copies should be sent to CHDS Perry Award Selection Committee, attn:  Martin Edwin Andersen, c/o National Defense University, Abraham Lincoln Hall, 260 5th Avenue, S.W., Bldg. 64, Washington, D.C.  20319-5066, the United States of America.

About William J. Perry

As the countries of the Western Hemisphere confront a panorama of challenges in formative years of the 21st century, the example of Dr. William J. Perry offers a model for both vision and problem-solving in the security and defense areas. A Ph.D. in mathematics from Pennsylvania State University, Perry entered into service as Secretary of Defense with broad national security experience, both in industry and government. He also had a keen understanding of the challenges that needed to be addressed, well versed in both the Department of Defense’s internal operations and in international security issues.

When the Clinton Administration hosted the first Summit of the Americas in 1994, Secretary Perry recognized an opportunity to promote hemispheric security and convened the first Defense Ministerial the next year. In response to discussions with his regional colleagues in Williamsburg in 1995, at the second Defense Ministerial held at Bariloche, Argentina in 1996, Dr. Perry proposed the creation of a regional educational center tailored to the unique requirements of countries that wished to strengthen civilian defense and security leadership in revitalized democracies.

Secretary Perry’s vision came into reality, with the establishment of the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, even as he returned to civilian life. Dr. Perry’s associates say he was frustrated by a Congress whose political partisanship was doing harm to the U.S. military. He left office wearing a crown of accomplishments—ranging from instituting needed acquisition reforms, managing the post-Cold War military drawdown, and improving relationships with the military services, ensuring U.S. military might was effectively deployed in Haití, Bosnia, Korea and the Persian Gulf, forging strong relationships with defense counterparts overseas, to advancing the Partnership for Peace within NATO.

When Dr. Perry retired in January 1997, General John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, noted the relationship the civilian secretary had forged with the troops: "Surely, Bill Perry has been the GI's secretary of defense. When asked his greatest accomplishment as secretary, Bill Perry didn't name an operation or a weapons system. He said that his greatest accomplishment was his very strong bond with our men and women in uniform."

CHDS is proud to be part of the Perry legacy, having become the premier regional forum offering strategic level defense and security education, research and dialogue regarding effective security policy within the hemisphere. Fully three-quarters of CHDS’ students are civilians, and the growing community of influence working toward a more cooperative and stable international security environment in the region is testament to just how vital Dr. Perry’s vision remains today.

For that reason, the Center offers, in both individual and institutional categories, the “William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education.”

Previous Winners of the William J. Perry Award

The William J. Perry Award was first offered in 2007, as part of the Center’s 10th anniversary celebration.  At that time, CHDS senior leadership determined that it should be bestowed on the creators and director of Peru’s “Strategic Leadership for Defense and Crisis Management Course” (known by the Spanish acronym CEDEYAC), who modeled their course on CHDS' academic content and instructional methodology, adapted to the Peruvian reality.

The second annual Perry Awards were given to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez in the individual category and the Chilean Academia Nacional de Estudios Políticos y Estratégicos [ANEPE) in the institutional category. 

In 2009, the winner of the third annual William J. Perry Award in the institutional category was the Strategic Superior Studies College (Colegio de Altos Estudios Estrategicos/CAEE) of El Salvador.

In 2010, CHDS selected former Uruguayan Defense Minister Dr. José Bayardi and U.S. General John Galvin in the individual category and the Mexican Center for Superior Naval Studies (CESNAV) in the institutional category for Perry awards.

A Message from Dr. Richard D. Downie, CHDS Director 

The William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education is named after the former U.S. secretary of defense who was responsible for the establishment of the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, now in its 14th year of existence. 

Recipients are chosen for having contributed in tangible ways to enhancing capacity in security and defense; building mutually beneficial relationships, and increasing democratic security in the Americas.

We look forward to your nominating suggestions, and perhaps receiving your name as one of the candidates, for this year’s award.

Sincerely,
Richard D. Downie, Ph.D.

Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies
National Defense University
Abraham Lincoln Hall
Building 64
260 5th Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20319-5066