Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and former Director of the CIA Leon E. Panetta will receive this year’s Thomas S. Foley Award for Distinguished Public Service. The ceremony will be held April 24 at the John H. Hemmingson Center on the Gonzaga University campus in Spokane.

The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service was established at Washington State University to honor Speaker Foley’s more than 30 years of public service to state and nation. The non-partisan institute provides high quality programs that educate about American democracy and support student engagement in public service.