-
2026 and then: 30 years ago, Candice Hunter (now McQueen) was crowned Miss Lipscomb
Decades before she became president of Lipscomb University, Candice Hunter (now McQueen) earned another campus honor: being selected by her peers as the female senior who most embodies the ideals of Lipscomb. The title, of course, is Miss Lipscomb. (The corresponding male recipient is named Bachelor of Ugliness; Brent High earned that award in 1996.) Being nominated by faculty, staff and administrators, and then voted on by students, marked an achievement in 1996, but its meaning would take years to unfold. What felt like recognition in the moment would later reveal itself as something deeper: the early shaping of a leader whose influence would extend far beyond a single title. “I…