A lawmaker who has devoted most of her career to education will be honored this year by Missouri State University.
It announced Friday that Republican state Sen. Karla Eslinger, Texas County’s state senator, will receive the 2022 Government Excellence Award for her advocacy and support for MSU.
Eslinger, the former superintendent in Ava and West Plains, worked for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the U.S. Department of Education.
In 2020, she was elected to the Missouri Senate, where she represents a district that includes Webster, Wright, Douglas, Howell, Ozark, Texas, Oregon and Ripley County counties in southern Missouri until January. A realignment of the district’s counties will occur in 2023.
The MSU Board of Governors voted Friday to present Eslinger with the award Dec. 16, during the fall commencement ceremony.