Mike Pence will be receiving the Ashbrook award that is given every year to someone who embodies the principles of the center and what Ashbrook is devoted to.

Mike Pence has been Vice President, Governor of Indiana and a member of the U.S House of Representatives. Pence was alongside former President Donald Trump during his time from 2017-2021. 

The mission of the Ashbrook program is to strengthen constitutional self government by educating fellow americans. Whether it is students, teachers, and citizens, the Ashbrook program wants people to know the history and founding principles of our country. 

The Ashbrook Center will be holding a memorial dinner to fundraise money for its scholar program on October 29th. Along with the memorial dinner, former Vice President Mike Pence (2017-2021) will be making an appearance to Ashland University. Pence will meet with Ashbrook students for questions and answers, have dinner and give a speech before receiving his Ashbrook award. The dinner and reception is open to the public.

Sikkenga expressed that he is excited about the former Vice President’s arrival to Ashland University. “This will be a great opportunity for Ashbrook scholars…..you don’t get a chance to meet people who have occupied the second highest executive office in the United States. It’s a rare privilege, there’s only ever been 49 people who have been Vice President, ” Dr. Jeffrey Sikkenga, Executive Director of Ashbrook said.  

Mike Pence speaks about his political beliefs being conservative but Ashbrook’s Director of Student Programs, Ben Kunkel doesn’t suspect that being an issue. “We like to have a mixture of voices and beliefs that we have in the class. You have different conversations when you have different perspectives” Kunkell said. 

“We should take every guest seriously no matter what our own personal thoughts and opinions are” Christopher Burkett, Professor of political science, said. He is happy to see somebody like Pence come to Ashland so students can hear what he has to say.