2024 William J. Perry Award for Excellence
in Security and Defense Education

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

A Message from the Director

Every day, thousands of dedicated professionals in government, the military, academia, and civil society do the tireless, often unheralded work of making the Americas safer and more secure. The Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education offers an opportunity to recognize some of the individuals and institutions advancing security and defense education in the Americas. I hope you will help bring attention to standout policymakers, educators, practitioners, and organizations by submitting nominations for the 2024 Perry Award.

When thinking of potential nominees, you might consider the example of the Center’s founder, Dr. William J. Perry, a leader who has promoted hemispheric security in many arenas – as a senior policymaker in government, enlisted soldier and reserve officer in the US Army, executive in private business, and researcher and educator in universities. The networks and organizations that promote democracy, the rule of law, and improved security and defense governance in the Americas are varied. The selection committee welcomes the nominations of individuals and institutions from diverse backgrounds.

Thank you for your interest in the William J. Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education. The Perry Center looks forward to receiving your nomination packets.

Dr. Paul J. Angelo
Director
William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies

2024 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, the Center’s senior leadership determined it should be awarded to the creators and director of Peru’s “Strategic Leadership for Defense and Crisis Management Course (CEDEYAC),” who modeled their course on the Perry Center’s academic content and instructional methodology, adapted to the Peruvian reality.

Since then, the Perry Center has recognized individuals and institutions that have made significant and sustained contributions in defense and security education with the objective of advancing mutually supportive approaches to security, fostering transparent and capable defense and security governance institutions, and strengthening institutional capacity in the Americas.

Eligibility: Awardees may be individuals or institutions that, through education, research, outreach, and/or scholastic leadership, have contributed to the knowledge base of defense and security practitioners, advanced a cooperative international security environment, and/or promoted sustainable institutional capacity in the Americas. Awardees will have made sustained contributions in their fields in a manner consistent with the Perry Center’s mission.

Please note: US citizens and entities are not eligible for this award. Nominees are limited to foreign individuals and institutions that have not previously received this award. Nominations are welcome from all interested parties.

Nomination Process: Send nominations to the Perry Center Selection Committee at chdsstratcom@ndu.edu. Please include the name and contact information of the nominee, the name and contact information of the nominator, justification for the nomination, and supporting material. Nominations may be made in either English or Spanish. The total package should not exceed 3,000 words.

The deadline for nominations is July 8, 2024.

Submissions: Submit all nominations electronically to the Perry Award Selection Committee by July 8, 2024, via chdsstratcom@ndu.edu. If you are unable to submit your nomination electronically, please contact the selection committee at chdsstratcom@ndu.edu to discuss alternate means.

About Dr. William J. Perry

Dr. William J. Perry, the 19th United States Secretary of Defense, founded the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, later renamed in his honor. Currently, Dr. Perry is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor (emeritus) at Stanford University. He is an emeritus senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and the Hoover Institution, as well as co-director of the Preventive Defense Project at the Center for International Security and Cooperation. His previous academic experience includes being a professor at Stanford from 1988 to 1993 when he was the co-director of the Center for International Security and Arms Control. He also served as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at Santa Clara University from 1971 to 1977.

Dr. Perry served as Secretary of Defense from February 1994 to January 1997. His previous government experience was as Deputy Secretary of Defense (1993–1994) and Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (1977–1981). Important contributions from his time in office include instituting needed acquisition reforms, managing the post-Cold War military drawdown, ensuring effective US military deployments in Haiti, Bosnia, Korea, and the Persian Gulf, forging strong relationships with defense counterparts overseas, and advancing the Partnership for Peace within NATO.

In response to discussions with his regional colleagues at the second Defense Ministerial of the Americas in 1996, Dr. Perry proposed the creation of a regional education center tailored to the unique requirements of democratic countries that sought to strengthen civilian defense and security leadership. Secretary Perry’s vision became a reality the following year with the establishment of the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies.

William J. Perry was born October 11, 1927, in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. He attended grade school and high school in Butler, Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Stanford University and his PhD from Pennsylvania State University, all in mathematics. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 1946 to 1947, Dr. Perry enlisted in the Army Corps of Engineers and served in the Army of Occupation in Japan. He joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1948 and was a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves from 1950 to 1955.