Former Vice President Mike Pence to visit Spokane to receive WSU’s Thomas S. Foley Award

July 16, 2026 Updated Fri., July 17, 2026 at 10:10 p.m.

By Nick Gibson nickg@spokesman.com (509) 459-5039

Former Vice President Mike Pence will soon be visiting the Lilac City to receive the region’s highest award for accomplished policy makers.

Washington State University announced Thursday Pence is to receive the 2026 Thomas S. Foley Award for Distinguished Public Service, named for the late, long-serving Eastern Washington congressman and former speaker of the House.

Since 1995, the university’s Thomas S. Foley Institute of Public Policy and Public Service has granted the award to those whose work has had a lasting impact, and who’ve upheld Foley’s commitment to democracy, civil discourse and integrity.

In a release announcing Pence’s selection, Foley Institute Director Cornell Clayton said the former Indiana governor and U.S. representative has a “long and distinguished history of public service and has continued to display that commitment since leaving public office.”

Pence continues to engage in civics after taking a step back from office after ratifying the 2020 election amid intense pressures from within the Trump administration and outside from supporters. In 2021, the former vice president launched the conservative think tank Advancing American Freedom, which advocates for a return to Reagan-era policies within the Republican party.

“He demonstrated remarkable integrity, courage and a commitment to upholding democratic norms in the face of pressures to block or delay the certification of the 2020 election,” Clayton said.

Pence will receive the award in Spokane on Sept. 10 at the John J. Hemmingson Center on the Gonzaga University campus.

The ceremony will include a keynote address from the former vice president, as well as a seated dinner.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online through the Foley Institute’s website. All proceeds benefit the institute.

Editor’s Note: The Spokesman-Review is the media sponsor for the keynote address and dinner featuring Pence. This article was updated July 16, 2026, to correctly reflect Pence’s time as governor of Indiana.

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