Every year CHDS selects individuals and institutions to receive the Dr. William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education. The awards recognize significant contributions in the fields of security and defense education that reflect the Center’s mission focus. 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 adhering to CHDS’s core values. The Center recognizes both individual and organizational efforts.
Eligibility: Academic and policy candidates include any individual or institution that has made or sustained a significant contribution related to the security and defense sectors. They may be from throughout the Hemisphere, or from outside the region.
Nomination Process: Nominations should be sent to the CHDS selection committee and include 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: The 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 William J. Perry Award will be presented to the individual or representative of the institution selected at a ceremony held the third week of September 2013, coinciding with the anniversary of the Center's foundation.
Deadline: All nominations must be submitted by June 17, 2013.
Point of Contact: The CHDS Perry Award Project Coordinator is Mr. Michael Mann. Send electronic submissions to mannm@ndu.edu; paper copies should be sent to CHDS Perry Award Selection Committee, attn: Michael Mann, c/o National Defense University, Abraham Lincoln Hall, 260 5th Avenue, Building 64, Washington, D.C. 20319-5066.
Previous Winners of the William J. Perry Award:
The William J. Perry Award was first presented in 2007 as part of the Center’s 10th anniversary celebration. At that time, CHDS’s 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's academic content and instructional methodology, adapted to Peruvian reality.
The second annual Perry Awards were presented to Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Velez in the individual category and to the Chilean Academia Nacional de Estudios Políticos y Estratégicos (National Academy for Political and Strategic Studies, ANEPE) in the institutional category.
In 2009, the recipient 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.
In 2011, CHDS selected the former Minister of Defense of Brazil Nelson Jobim in the individual category and the U.S. National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program for the Western Hemisphere, consisting of a collection of 22 state-level National Guard elements working in cooperation with 28 hemispheric nations, in the institutional category.
Last year, in 2012, CHDS again presented the William J. Perry Award in both categories. CHDS selected the Canadian Defense Minister, the Honorable Peter MacKay, in the individual category, and the Regional Security System (Barbados) and the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in the institutional category.
About William J. Perry:
As the countries of the Western Hemisphere confront a panorama of challenges in the 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. Having earned 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 and was 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, then-Secretary Perry recognized an opportunity to promote hemispheric security and convened the first Defense Ministerial in Williamsburg, VA, the following year. In response to discussions with his regional colleagues, at the second Defense Ministerial held in 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 became reality, with the establishment of the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies.
During his time in office, he is credited with numerous accomplishments, such instituting needed acquisition reforms, managing the post–Cold War military drawdown, improving relationships with the military services, ensuring the effective deployment of U.S. military might in Haiti, Bosnia, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, forging strong relationships with defense counterparts overseas, and advancing the Partnership for Peace within NATO.
At his retirement ceremony in January 1997, General John M. Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, spoke of 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’s students are civilians, and the growing communities of influence working toward a more cooperative and stable international security environment in the region are testament to just how vital Dr. Perry’s vision remains today. It is for this reason that the Center offers annually the William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 redesignated CHDS as the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies. An official renaming ceremony with Dr. Perry in attendance will be held in the spring of 2013.
Regards,
Michael A. Mann
Strategic Programs Manager
National Defense University
Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies
Lincoln Hall – Fort McNair
260 5th Avenue – Room 3329
Washington, DC 20319-5066
(202) 685-3010 / mannm@ndu.edu
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 16th 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 the 2013 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
