COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Erika Kirk, the widow of the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was appointed to the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors (USAFA BoV), according to the board’s website.
Ms. Kirk’s appointment to the BoV appeared to happen quietly over the weekend, with no formal announcement. A request for comment has been filed with the White House and Congressman August Pfluger of Texas, who chairs the BoV.
Membership in the Congressionally mandated BoV is attained via appointment by the President, along with lawmakers designated through leadership in Congress.
Ms. Kirk’s appointment by President Trump comes almost a year after Trump first appointed her late husband, Charlie Kirk, a conservative podcaster and co-founder of Turning Point USA, to the board in March 2025.
Mr. Kirk attended his first BoV meeting at the Air Force Academy on Aug. 7 last year, just weeks before his assassination at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
The BoV is an oversight committee that monitors the morale, curriculum, academic methods, and other issues relating to USAFA. Though it can’t force any change, the board does make recommendations to the Secretaries of Air Force and Defense.
The board submitted its semi-annual report to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Air Force Secretary Troy Meink last month.
Ms. Kirk’s appointment occurs just as the Board of Visitors might also be taking up the issue of granting, or recommending, that Charlie Kirk receive an honorary degree from the Air Force Academy.
Following his death, the Air Force Academy Association of Graduates (AOG) considered posthumously granting Charlie Kirk an Association of Graduates membership and an honorary degree from the Academy.
The motions stirred up widespread controversy and pushback ahead of their October meeting, leading to both motions being withdrawn for reconsideration in February this year.
A statement from the AOG at the time said hundreds of USAFA graduates, parents, and family members reached out ahead of the vote.
Critics of the possible honors said Kirk was too politically divisive and had no military record.
Though the AOG doesn’t have the authority to grant an honorary degree, their motion sought to recommend that the Air Force Academy seek the authority to posthumously award an honorary degree to Charlie Kirk.
The AOG Board of Directors met on Feb. 19 and, according to an email from a spokesperson, the question of a motion regarding Charlie Kirk came up.
“After collecting inputs from some graduates and hearing from our CEO, Director [Rod] Bishop moves and Director [Lee] Krauth seconds that the AOG Board refer to the Board of Visitors, and we defer to their judgment on recognition of Charlie Kirk,” the AOG said in an email. “The motion passed by a vote of 12-0 with three abstentions.”
The minutes with the full discussion surrounding the decision aren’t expected to be posted until the end of March, an AOG spokesperson said.
It’s unclear if and when the USAFA BoV might take up the issue of honoring Charlie Kirk and in what form. A request for comment was sent to BoV Chair Rep. Pfluger’s office.
But if the matter is brought up, new member Erika Kirk would have a say on the issue.
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