On Wed. Nov. 14, 2012, AMU professor and former Ambassador Michael Novak, received the Barbara Olson Award for Excellence in Journalism at the American Spectator's 45th Annual Bartley Gala at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.  We applaud Ambassador Novak’s great achievement and proudly welcome him back to Ave Maria University!

This year’s gala was hosted by Ben Stein, and the keynote address was made by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. The American Spectator Foundation's Robert L. Bartley Gala is one of the highlights of the Washington political scene each year and is attended by over 400 people, including many national journalists, representatives of the Washington press corps, and a great cross section of true conservatives.

The American Spectator gala and award has been a tradition since the early 1980s. Recent keynote speakers have included best-selling author Tom Wolfe, Governor Mitt Romney, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Samuel Alito and the Honorable Paul Ryan.

Each year, a distinguished journalist is presented with the Barbara Olson Award for Excellence in Journalism. Last year’s award went to Spectator contributor, Mr. M. Stanton Evans. Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard won in 2010; The Wall Street Journal 's Dan Henninger in 2009; the late Bob Novak won in 2008; and Dr. Charles Krauthammer received the award in 2007.