Edwin J. Feulner to receive 2026 William L. Armstrong Award
April 6, 2026
LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Edwin J. Feulner, Jr., co-founder and long-time president of the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., will receive the 2026 William L. Armstrong Award from Colorado Christian University in partnership with the Centennial Institute and the family of former U.S. Senator William L. Armstrong.
The award will be presented posthumously to his son, E.J. Feulner, followed by a keynote address by Vice President Mike Pence, a longtime friend of Feulner, who will speak to Feulner’s significance within the conservative movement.
A film featuring Feulner’s last major interview and an oral history filmed with Wil Armstrong will also be shown for the first time.
The William L. Armstrong Award is presented annually in honor of the late United States senator (1979-1991) and Colorado Christian University president (2006-2016) William L. Armstrong. The award is given to a leader who embodies the values that Armstrong held dear — faith, family, and freedom — and who has made a difference in America’s culture through business, politics, or education. The prestigious award is an annual highlight of the Western Conservative Summit and the University’s highest honor.
”Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, a visionary of the modern conservative movement, was a staunch advocate for freedom, family, and faith,” said Greg Schaller, Centennial Institute director. “This posthumous award celebrates his lasting impact as a thought leader who instilled principles to protect our nation’s prosperity and liberty.”
“This is a full-circle moment for both Colorado Christian University and the conservative movement,” said Eric Hogue, Colorado Christian University president. “While Senator Bill Armstrong was promoting conservative values on Capitol Hill, Ed Feulner was down the street building one of the biggest platforms for conservative policy in the nation. This summer, we have the inheritors of that work — Wil Armstrong and Mike Pence — stewarding their vision for a renewed America. There is no better place to honor these legacies and examine the path forward than the Western Conservative Summit, hosted at Colorado Christian University.”
“For five decades Ed Feulner was an indispensable leader of the American conservative movement — a brilliant speaker, writer, and thought leader for the ages,” said Wil Armstrong, son of the late senator and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Colorado Christian University. “As founder and inspirational leader, first of the House Republican Study Committee and then the Heritage Foundation, Ed Feulner defined conservatism for generations of national leaders. More than any other person, he set the tone and outlined the ideas and policies of the conservative movement.”
“We are especially honored that Vice President Pence will be with us for the event,” Armstrong added. “Mike Pence is a great friend of CCU, and his appearance will be a highlight of the year on campus.”
“Dr. Ed Feulner was one of the giants of the modern conservative movement,” said Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States. “There is no individual more deserving of the William L. Armstrong Award, named after one of the great conservative statesmen of our time. I am honored to keynote such a distinguished event to honor my longtime friend and conservative ally Ed Feulner.”
Feulner and Senator Armstrong were close friends, laboring together in the conservative wing of the Republican Party and sharing many common interests and issues. Feulner also shared a Colorado connection as a 1963 alumnus of Regis University in Denver and as a co-founder of the Heritage Foundation with Paul Weyrich, a staffer of then-Colorado Senator Gordon Allott. Feulner had also worked for both Congressman Melvin Laird (R-WI) and Defense Secretary Melvin Laird (R-WI), and for Rep. Phil Crane (R-IL).
Past recipients of the William L. Armstrong Award include: conservative talk show host Dennis Prager; Focus on the Family and “Family Talk” founder Dr. James Dobson; former attorney general and counselor to President Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese III; legal scholar and professor Robert George; Hobby Lobby president and chairman of the Museum of the Bible Steve Green; former Heritage Foundation president and founder and chairwoman of the Gloucester Institute Kay Coles James; syndicated columnist and radio commentator Cal Thomas; CEO of Alliance Defending Freedom Kristen Waggoner, and Bob Woodson, founder of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, now known as the Woodson Center in Washington, D.C.
The William L. Armstrong Award will be presented during a formal dinner on Thursday, July 30, 2026, at 5:30 pm in the Colorado Christian University Event Center ahead of the Western Conservative Summit. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit WesternConservativeSummit.com.
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Centennial Institute is Colorado Christian University’s think tank, mobilizing ideas on faith, family, and freedom to strengthen America’s future. Colorado Christian University is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization that does not endorse or oppose any candidate or political party for public office.