Texas Senator Seliger to Speak at MSU Commencement

Texas State Senator Kel Seliger will deliver the commencement address at Midwestern State University's graduation ceremony at 10 a.m. May 10 at Kay Yeager Coliseum. Approximately 656 students are candidates to earn their degrees this May.

Seliger was elected to the Texas Senate in 2004. Senate District 31 covers 37 counties from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin and includes Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, and Big Spring.

Born in Amarillo and raised in Borger, Seliger is a graduate of Borger public schools and Dartmouth College. He spent 35 years in the steel industry.

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst appointed Seliger to serve as chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee for the 83rd Legislature. Seliger also serves on the Senate Education Committee, Senate Finance Committee, Senate Committee on Natural Resources, and the Senate Committee on Open Government.

In the interim following the 82nd Legislature, Dewhurst appointed Seliger to serve on the Joint Committee on Oversight of Higher Education Governance, Excellence & Transparency, as well as the newly created Joint Interim Committee to Study the Public School Finance System.

In 2012, Seliger was the recipient of the Bell Helicopter Legislative Leadership Award. He was the Texas Municipal League's 2011 Legislator of the Year and the Texas Association of Business recently recognized Seliger a third time as a Fighter for Free Enterprise for his support of policies that encourage and promote a healthy business climate in Texas.

Before his election to the Senate, Seliger served four terms as mayor of Amarillo and as a member of the Amarillo City Commission and the Amarillo Civil Service Commission. He is a member of the National Rifle Association, Texas Farm Bureau, and Harley-Davidson Owners Group.