Washington, April 21, 2006- Dr. Peter W. Schramm, executive director of the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University, today was awarded The Heritage Foundation's 2006 Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship.

Dr. Schramm has spent the last 20 years building Ashbrook into one of the nation's leading academic forums for the study, research and discussion of the principles and practices of American constitutional government and politics. The award was presented by former Attorney General and Heritage scholar Edwin Meese III and Matthew Spalding, Director of Heritage's B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies.

Each year, the Ashbrook Center challenges more than 100 young scholars to examine political ideas in the light of some of the greatest works of Western civilization and the American political tradition.

It also gives students a chance to study with political leaders including Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger and Clarence Thomas. Recently, the Ashbrook Center launched a master's degree program for high-school teachers to reinvigorate their interest in the documents, people and events of American history.

The $25,000 Prize, named for entrepreneur and philanthropist Henry Salvatori, is given annually to an American who upholds and advances the principles of the American Founding, embodies the virtues of character and mind that animated America's Founders and exemplifies the spirit of independent and entrepreneurial citizenship in the United States.

The Salvatori Prize was presented in Colorado Springs, Co., at Heritage's 29th annual Resource Bank meeting of more than 400 think tank executives, elected officials, policy experts and public interest lawyers.