Battey National Educator Award

This Award has had a wonderful effect on Senior Honor Scholars, prompting them to reflect on their intellectual roots and on the road they have traveled from high school to where they are today.

The Charles and Joan Westmen Battey National Educator of the Year Award is administered by the Honor Scholar Program thanks to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Battey. Joan Westmen Battey, a graduate of the DePauw Class of 1954, and her husband Chuck, established the Award in 2008 as a way to acknowledge, recognize and thank educators who have made a difference in the lives of DePauw's students. During the fall semester, Senior Honor Scholars are invited tosubmit brief essays nominating a high school teacher who inspired them profoundly during their high school years and continues to have an impact on their intellectual curiosity.  The Award entails a cash prize for the winner, as well as monies for the high school, to be spent on the winner’s recommendations.  The Honor Scholar Program also prepares a plaque for the winner and for the principal so that the Award recipient may be recognized within his or her high school. 

2012 Charles and Joan Westmen Battey National Educator:
Perry Thapa, Rato Bangala School, Lalitpur, Nepal

An excerpt from Shreeya Neupane's (Class of 2012) nominating essay:
"Miss Perry wanted us to be critical and analytical at every step. Although as a college student, and especially an honor scholar, these are qualities that are expected of me, it is not a concept that is frequently used in Nepal. Our performance in the national board exam is most important and the exams are structured in a way that memorization is sufficient in doing well. Miss Perry never left it at that. She did not want us to be indifferent about what we learned and she always demanded we question the text."

"Miss Perry is an American citizen who has been teaching in Nepal, and until I came to DePauw as an international student I did not understand the set of challenges that comes with. Miss Perry’s awareness of and sensitivity towards Nepali culture is commendable.  When we wrote papers for her class, she always told us to draw on who we were and what we knew. That was the only way of writing a piece that was genuine and sincere. It was not limited to just papers. She always inspired us to be honest with ourselves and be comfortable in our own skins. Without that lesson I would be absolutely lost in college."

Pictured above: Charles and Joan 'Westmen' Battey
Pictured Left: Dr. Kevin Moore, Shreeya Neupane, Joan 'Westmen' Battey, and Charles Battey