Story by Emily Kebert

Photos by Morgan Solomon

Margaret “Peg” McLaughlin spent more than three decades working in public schools, helping students navigate their academic journeys and supporting the counselors who guide them along the way.

Today, her impact on education continues through a remarkable commitment to the University of Missouri College of Education & Human Development.

For her extraordinary generosity and lifelong dedication to education, McLaughlin is the recipient of the Friend of the College Award, the college’s highest honor for individuals whose contributions will shape its future for generations.

McLaughlin earned her Education Specialist degree in counseling and personnel services from Mizzou in 1983, studying under Norm Gysbers, widely recognized as the father of modern school guidance programs. She went on to build a 33-year career in public education, serving as an elementary teacher, special education teacher, elementary counselor and eventually a district-level guidance counselor in Raytown, Missouri, where she oversaw counseling programs across elementary, middle and high schools.

Across those roles, McLaughlin focused on helping students find support, confidence and direction during some of the most formative years of their lives.

“You don’t always know what students are living with or living through,” she said, reflecting on the perspective that shaped her work with young people.

Investing in the people who prepare educators

In retirement, McLaughlin began thinking about how she could continue supporting the profession that had shaped her life.

In 2021, she established two faculty fellowships at the college: the Margaret McLaughlin Faculty Fellowship in School Counseling and Mental Health and the Dr. Lydia Walker Faculty Fellowship in Reading Education and Literacy, named in memory of her late partner, Lydia Walker, a fellow Mizzou alumna.

The fellowships recognize and support faculty members whose work strengthens the preparation of educators in areas critical to students’ success.

Inspired by the impact of those fellowships, McLaughlin made an even larger commitment in 2024, establishing a $4 million estate gift — the largest in the college’s history. The gift will elevate both fellowships into endowed chair positions, creating the first chairs in these fields and expanding the college’s leadership in counseling, literacy and PK–12 education.

Support where it matters

For McLaughlin, the gift reflects the profound role education played in her life and career.

“I can’t think of a better way to support students than by furthering knowledge,” she said. “Education gave me so much and allowed me the career I was fortunate to have.”

Through her generosity, McLaughlin is helping ensure that future educators and scholars continue advancing the work she spent her career championing.

It is, in many ways, an extension of the same philosophy that guided her years in public schools: offering trust, providing support and investing in the people who help students succeed.

In doing so, she has become exactly what the award celebrates — a true friend of the college.